Darry Goes To College
by Coca-Cola3012
Summary: COMPLETE! Ten years after The Outsiders, Darry finally gets the chance to go back to school. But college now is VERY different from what it was when Darry should have gone. What happens when one of Darry's friends is accused of murder?
1. Chapter 1

**Darry Goes To College**

This takes place ten years after The Outsiders

Chapter One: You Did What!

Disclaimer: Everything Outsider related belongs to S.E. Hinton.

Darry was searching for his work shirt. _Where did I put it? In thirty years, I haven't lost anything! Why now, when I'm already late?_

He was digging through his closet, throwing things that weren't his work shirt behind him.

Soda entered without bothering to knock and immediately realized his mistake as a shoe came hurling at him. He ducked and it sailed over his head.

"Darry, what are you DOING?" Darry answered without stopping. "I'm searching for my work shirt. Have you seen it?"

"No. But you don't need it today."

"What are you talking about? I'm already late!"

"I called you in sick." At Soda's words, Darry stood up so suddenly that he banged his head against the closet door frame. Clutching his head, he whirled around.

"You did what!" Darry shouted at Soda. He couldn't believe it. Even at twenty-six, his brother still acted like he was sixteen sometimes.

"You can't go to work, Darry," Soda said, grinning widely. Ponyboy then stepped into the room. Darry's eyes grew wide.

"Ponyboy! I thought you moved to New York to be a writer after you finished college!"

"Yeah, but I'm back to visit my favorite brothers," he said, grinning. Darry rolled his eyes. "We're your _only _brothers, dummy."

"All the more reason for you to be my favorites, then!"

"Alright, what's the big idea?" Darry demanded. Ponyboy decides to drop in randomly, he and Soda both wearing silly grins that said very plainly, 'We've got a secret, nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!' and Soda calling him in sick at work? What was going on?

"Well," Ponyboy said slowly. "I published my book, you know that, Darry."

"Yeah, so?" Darry said suspiciously. "Well," said Soda. "We decided to use the money Ponyboy got to get something for you. Since you gave up college and everything for us."

"You didn't have to-" Darry started, but Ponyboy cut him off. "Yes, we did. We know you never got over not going to college. So…"

Soda stepped forward and handed Darry a bunch of papers. On top of the stack was a train ticket to Chicago. "Chicago? You're sending me to Chicago?"

"Yep. Read on," Soda said eagerly. There were a bunch of college forms and booklets about the University of Chicago.

"What the hell is all this for?" Darry demanded. His brothers' grins were starting to get on his nerves.

"Don't you get it, Darry?" Ponyboy said happily. "We sent in your applications, and the University of Chicago accepted. You're going to college, at long last!"

Whaddya think? Should I continue this or not?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: I Think I'm Lost

Disclaimer: The Outsiders belongs to S.E. Hinton.

Soda and Ponyboy drove Darry to the train station. "We're gonna miss you, Darry," Soda said tearfully.

"Stop bawling, Soda, you're gonna make me start!" Darry protested. The whistle blew.

"Go, Darry, you're gonna miss the train!" Ponyboy yelled over the general racket at the station. He handed Darry his suitcase.

Darry leaped onto the platform and waved one last time at Ponyboy and Soda before handing the conductor his ticket.

He stepped onto the train and couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face. He was finally going to college! He just couldn't get over that fact.

Meanwhile, Ponyboy and Soda drove back in silence. Finally Soda broke the silence. "I can't believe it. Darry's finally realizing his dreams."

"Whaddya mean you can't believe it? You're the one who had the bright idea!" Ponyboy exclaimed. Soda sighed and said, "Here's my stop."

Ponyboy dropped Soda off at the DX, where he still worked all these years later with his best friend, Steve, who was now married to Evie and had two kids. "I'll pick you up later, Soda. When d'you get off?"

"Around seven. See ya later, Pony." Soda shut the car door and ran inside. His brothers were all leaving him, he thought unhappily.

Ponyboy lived in New York with his girlfriend, and now Darry was off to college in Chicago. Steve had his family to worry about, Two-Bit was a comedian traveling from city to city, and Soda had no one. He didn't even have a girlfriend. He never had really gotten over Sandy.

Ponyboy drove back to his old house. It was great to be back home. He would stay for a few more days, and then he was back to New York. He loved the city. From Dally's stories, he always thought it would be a giant death trap.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Thinking of Dally made him think of Johnny. He didn't want to deal with that.

Meanwhile, Darry tried to figure out his schedule and university campus from a small, vague map, while listening to the banter of the two small children and harassed parents he was sitting by.

He sighed to himself. _This is not going to be an easy journey,_ he thought miserably as applesauce splattered on his shirt.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Disclaimer: All Outsiders stuff belongs to S.E. Hinton. By the way, sorry if I screw things up, I am not historically accurate nor am I in college, so forgive me if I screw some things up.

Darry wiped at the applesauce. He got most of it off, but there was still a large, wet stain on his shirt. _Great, I'm going to look like a complete slob,_ Darry thought sarcastically.

He stared out the window, watching the countryside race by. The trip from Tulsa to Chicago was only a few hours long, but just long enough for him to fall deeply asleep and be jolted awake by the loud noises of Chicago when they arrived.

The whistle blew and the train slowed down to a complete stop. "Chicago, Illinois!" the conductor yelled. The doors flew open and passengers rushed to get off.

Darry stepped off the train and onto the platform. He retrieved his bags and left the station, glancing at his watch and getting a shock as he realized he only had an hour to find the university.

_How hard can it be?_ Darry thought. He immediately realized how hard. He was completely and utterly lost in ten minutes.

He glanced up at the nearest street sign. Cottage Grove Drive. He stopped an old man to ask for directions. "Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the University of Chicago?"

The man stuck out a thin, brown hand. "Got a quarter?" Darry sighed and handed him a dime. "That's all I got."

The man pointed forward. "You go forward there, and then take a left at the first intersection. Then you walk straight and turn right, then walk up the big stone steps and you're there."

"Thanks…" Darry started, but the man had already walked off. _Huh. Weird people around here._ He started off towards the university, too excited for words.

A.J. threw up her hands in disgust. "Lucky, I just cannot believe you sometimes!" she shouted loudly enough for everyone at the outdoor cafeteria to turn around and stare at her.

Lucky, the coolest guy at U of C, grinned at A.J., his best friend, looking at her from over his shades. He stretched out, putting his big, sneaker clad feet on top of A.J.'s books on the table and lit a cigarette. "What?" he asked, like he didn't know.

"Lucky, you are such a moron sometimes," A.J. snarled. It wasn't good as far as insults went, but she couldn't control her mouth sometimes, especially when she was angry, like now.

"I know. How else would I have been held back three times?" Lucky said cheerfully, inhaling from his cigarette happily.

A.J. yanked her books out from under his feet and took his cigarette, smashing it beneath her foot. "Stop smoking. You'll die of cancer. I don't know how you can be so cheerful. Do you want to be a senior here for the rest for your life?"

Lucky shrugged. "I dunno. Ask me in ten years. Besides, we're finally in the same grade. I can just copy from you, you bookworm," he laughed, but not unkindly. A.J. opened her mouth to yell some more, but was interrupted. "LUCKY!"

Lucky looked up at Jay, the resident dumb jock. He had only managed to get into U of C for two reasons: his mom was an alumni and he played a killer game of basketball. "Hey, Lucky. I heard you was hanging out with Mini this weekend."

"Who told you that?" Lucky demanded. "Mini," Jay snarled. Mini was Jay's ditzy, beautiful blonde girlfriend. A.J. thought she was a slut, but that was what guys seemed to like around here.

"So what if I was?" Lucky said coolly. He leaned back. "It's a free country. She can hang with who she wants."

"Not when she's my girlfriend!" Jay roared. "You're going to pay!" He started to raise his fist when Mini herself sauntered up.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said seductively, wrapping her arms around Jay's waist but looking directly at Lucky with her baby blue eyes. Lucky lowered his shades and winked his bright brown eyes back at her, running a hand through his auburn hair.

_She's wearing so much makeup that if she turns around suddenly she'll leave her face behind,_ A.J. thought viciously. She hated Mini, simply because Lucky liked her. He deserved better.

Alright, alright, she had to admit to herself, she liked Lucky as more than a friend, but she knew that it was hopeless. He would never go for her.

She was Indian—her real name was Anjali Jahaji—and she had naturally tan skin, long black hair and big, dark brown eyes and preferred jeans and sneakers, and was a vegetarian and quiet and bookish.

In other words, she was the exact opposite of Mini, who got her nickname for the micro mini skirts and blouses she wore. _Did she borrow her outfit from her younger sister? _A.J. often thought.

Jay put his arm around Mini and continued to scowl at Lucky. "You stay away from Mini!" he growled. "Or?" Lucky said provocatively. Jay merely scowled and raised a fist.

Just then, a kid wearing large glasses ran up to him. "Hey, Lucky! There's a freshman who thinks he can take you on!" Lucky was known around the school for his talent at arm wrestling, of all things. A.J. rolled her eyes.

Lucky grinned evilly. "Bring him in," he said in a tone that he thought was dangerous, rolling up his sleeves.

A tough looking kid stormed up to Lucky, sat down, and put his arm on the table. He lost in three seconds and walked away, his pride hurt more than his arm.

"Playing with kids, Lucky? Some champion," Jay jeered. "I can take you on." Lucky half shrugged. "I normally like to arm wrestle a real man for a challenge, but what the heck, I'll wrestle you too."

It took a moment for Jay to register the insult, and when he did, he scowled. "You'll pay for that one!" he roared, sitting down and putting his am on the table.

Lucky lit another cigarette, which A.J. immediately took from his mouth. "A.J.!" Lucky protested, but A.J. held it out of his reach.

"C'mon, Lucky, let's get it on!" Jay said. "Chill, man," Lucky said. "What d'you say we make this interesting?"

Jay frowned with the effort of thinking. "I'm listening," he said suspiciously. "Whaddya say that the loser faces punishment of the winner's choice?" Lucky said. Jay nodded. "And the winner?"

"The winner…" Lucky looked around for inspiration. "The winner gets to kiss Mini," he said impishly. A.J.'s eyes grew wide; Jay growled angrily and said "Forget it."

"What, scared?" Lucky taunted. Jay scowled. "No way!" he yelled. Mini smiled densely and began applying lip gloss.

The wrestling match began. For a second, the only way you could tell that it had begun was by the guys' strained faces. Then Jay was winning…then Lucky pushed his hand back over.

A.J. bit her lip nervously, shooting venomous glances at Mini. She prayed and hoped and wrung her hands, not wanting Lucky to win for the first time. Then she noticed that she was still holding Lucky's lit cigarette.

Stealthily, she bent over to Lucky's arm, where his sleeves were still rolled up. She gently applied the lit cigarette to his arm, and the effect was electric.

Lucky howled and relaxed his grip. Jay slammed Lucky's arm down and stood up, victorious. Mini stomped her foot, obviously disappointed. Lucky yelled at A.J., "Have you gone zonkers!"

A.J. stared back at him innocently. "Me? What did I do?" she said, grinding something beneath her foot.

Lucky opened his mouth angrily, but Jay turned away from Mini and said, "Hey, Lucky, punishment time."

"What is it?" Lucky asked, defeated. "You see that gate?" Jay asked, pointing towards the entrance gate of U of C. "Yeah, so?" Lucky asked, still sour.

"I want you to push over the next person that comes through those gates." Lucky laughed. "Whatever. No sweat knocking over a puny freshman."

"Is that your puny freshman?" asked a guy named Andy, laughing as he pointed towards the gate. Lucky glanced that way and his eyes grew wide. The guy coming through the gate was huge!

Darry stepped through the large iron gate into what must have been an outdoors cafeteria of some sort. Students were milling around, sitting on tables, eating, talking, and studying.

There were buildings scattered here and there over the huge campus. Darry had walked around for the past half an hour, trying to find the admissions office. Someone had told him it was around here…now if only he could find it.

He looked around and saw a nervous looking kid coming towards him. The kid had auburn hair, brown eyes, and was wearing jeans and tennis shoes and a t-shirt that said "Lucky".

A lot of the kids around here wore jeans and sneakers, Darry noticed, even girls. The girls who weren't wearing jeans dressed like the sluts back home.

He started walking towards the kid. Maybe he could help him find his way around him.

Dun-dun-dun! What's going to happen? Review and maybe you'll find out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Calculus professor?

Disclaimer: Do I really have to put one for each chapter? It's a waste of my time. All Outsiders stuff belongs to S.E. Hinton. And I got most of this chapter's jokes and tidbits from a Hindi movie called "Main Hoon Na." Sorry, kind of forgot to mention that last time.

Darry walked up to the kid, who looked terrified for some reason. The kid tugged nervously at his long, unwashed hair. Darry, the poster boy for cleanliness, suppressed a shudder at the sight of it.

"Hello," Darry said, trying to break the ice. "I'm Darrel Curtis. Can you help me?" The kid looked up at Darry, who was a good three inches taller than him. "Uh, sure, um, Mr. Curtis."

"Can you tell me where the admissions office is?" The kid pointed behind Darry. "That first building there, third door to your left."

Lucky tried not to laugh. Sure, the guy was big, but he was harmless. He wondered briefly what happened to his shirt. It was covered with applesauce. As Darrel thanked him and turned, Lucky gave him a hard shove.

Darrel lost his balance and fell to the ground. His papers flew everywhere. Back at the table, everyone burst out laughing and cheering.

Lucky threw his head back and laughed. He bent over where Darrel was still on the ground, picking up his papers and dusting himself off irately and put out a hand. "Sorry, man. It was a bet."

Darry ignored his hand and stood up, glaring sternly. The kid reminded him of Two-Bit Matthews. He was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "What's your name, kid?"

The kid laughed. "Why? Gonna report me to the principal? Good luck," he laughed, turning away. Darry pulled him back around by the shoulder. "I asked you a question," he said in an almost threatening tone, kind of like a teacher dealing with a student.

Lucky's grin faded. "What, you don't like the way your face looks? No problem, man, I can change it for you."

Back at the table, A.J. was observing the scene worriedly. Lucky was cocky and arrogant, and had an ego the size of Mt. Everest and the common sense of a bungee jumper without a harness.

Her friend Andy leaned over and whispered urgently to her, "A.J.! What if that's the new Calculus professor?"

A.J. felt like she had been slapped. "What?" she shrieked, horrified. "Oh, God, Lucky!" She leapt off the table and ran towards Lucky before he got himself expelled for fighting a teacher. She just hoped he wouldn't try his "judo" skills.

The kid rolled up his sleeves even further and spread out his arms, taking a stance. "Haieee-yah!" he shouted, hopping up and down on one foot. "Hai-hai-hai!" he yelled, punching the air by Darry.

"What are you doing?" Darry demanded, staring at him. "Watch it, man!" The kid yelled loudly. "I'm a judo expert, man! Don't mess with me!"

Just then, a small, dark haired, dark skinned girl ran up. She pushed the kid away from Darry. "Don't mind him, he's just stupid, it's just a game, just a game…" she said quickly and pleadingly.

"Wha-zai!" The kid hollered, leaping up again, but the girl pushed him down again. "Behave yourself!" she snapped at him. She turned back to Darry apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, it's just a game." She turned to the kid, who had turned away form them, his arms crossed. "Say sorry. Lucky, say sorry!" she hissed, smacking him.

"Sorry," Lucky said grudgingly. "It's okay," Darry said amiably. If these were his classmates, he didn't want to be their enemies. He held out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Darrel Curtis, but you can call me Darry." The girl shook his hand awkwardly. "Hello, um, Mr. Curtis. I'm A.J."

"And I'm Lucky. C'mon, A.J., lets split." They turned to go, but Darry stopped them. "Excuse me, A.J., can you show me to the admissions office?" Darry had a strong suspicion that Lucky had told him the wrong place to go.

"It's the first building, third door to your left," A.J. said. Darry stopped, embarrassed. "Oh," was all he could say.

"See you later, Mr. Curtis," A.J. said before turning away. "Call me Darry," Darry called after her. She turned back, shocked.

"Are you serious? Just call you by your first name like that?" she sounded and looked astonished. "Yeah, so? What's the big deal?" Darry asked, confused.

"Well, we generally don't call our professors by their first name!" A.J. laughed.

Darry's mind froze. "P-professor?" he stuttered. He didn't think he looked _that_ old. "Yeah," A.J. said. "You're the new Calculus professor, aren't you?"

"No! I'm a student here. I couldn't start college when I was supposed to, so I'm back at school." A.J. looked embarrassed.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. It's just that…never mind. Well, good for you coming back to school. I guess I'll see you later, Darry." She smiled and walked away.

Darry shook his head and turned to walk to the admissions office. Imagine, thinking he was a professor! _It's a long way from Tulsa,_ he thought gloomily. _Things are different around here. New generation of college kids, new places, new culture._

He walked up the stone steps and into the building. He found the third door to his left. Sure enough, it said "Admissions Office."

Darry knocked. A voice shouted, "Come in!" Darry went in. The doorknob stuck a little, and the door was heavy and wooden. The paint was peeling. Darry remembered reading that the University of Chicago was over eighty years old.

An old lady looked up at him. "I'm Darrel Curtis," he said politely. "Oh, yes! Here are your forms, your books, your schedule, and your dorm information and key. Oh, and the principal just called. He asked if you would stop by at his office."

Darry thanked her and left the office staggering under his books. He left the building and realized he had no idea where the principal's office was. He stopped a student and asked him.

Darry walked to the third building and up three flights of stairs with his books. He wished he had thought to drop them off at his dorm first. He reminded himself of Ponyboy sometimes. When he finally reached the principal's office, he was ready to collapse.

He set his books down on the bench outside and knocked on the door. "Come in!" A voice shouted from inside.

Darry entered and saw a middle aged, slightly balding, slightly overweight man reading "Pride and Prejudice." He looked up at Darry over his glasses. "How can I help you, young man?"

"Sir, you called for me. I'm Darrel Curtis." Realization dawned on the principal's face. "Oh yes! You are starting twelve years late, because of some family responsibility, am I right, Daniel?"

"Yes, sir," Darry said respectfully. "And I'm Darrel, not Daniel." The principal seemed not to have registered the last remark.

"Alright then, I will come to your class this afternoon and announce your position to the students. Anything else I can do for you, Dennis?"

"No, sir, and I'm Darrel, not Dennis." The principal nodded. Darry nodded back and raised a hand in a gesture of farewell. "See you later, sir," Darry said on his way out.

"Right. Whatever you need, just come see me, Damien!" Darry sighed and didn't bother to correct him.

_This is going to be an interesting experience,_ Darry thought to himself. _If Pony and Soda were here, they'd laugh their heads off._

So? Whaddya think? Please review. I don't care of you're mean or nice, I want your honest opinion.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Oh, No, Not You!

Disclaimer: Outsiders belong to S.E. Hinton. I am doing this for my own amusement.

Darry dropped off his books at his dorm. He glanced over the dorm information. It said that his roommate was someone named Roger Stanton. _Huh,_ Darry thought. _I wonder what he's like._

He flung his suitcase to the side of the room that looked untouched. _My roommate is a slob,_ Darry thought disgustedly, glancing over the room. The bed was unmade and there was a box of half eaten pizza lying on it. Clothes were strewn everywhere.

Nearly tripping over a stray sweater, Darry glanced at his watch. He had twenty minutes to get to his first afternoon class, which was Physics. _Might as well leave now,_ Darry thought. _I'll probably get lost. _

He changed his shirt before he left.

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"You should've let me take him on, A.J.!" Lucky whined, crossing his arms. A.J. rolled her eyes at him. They were hanging out in the Physics classroom five minutes before class.

"For the millionth time, Lucky, we thought he was that new teacher! How the hell were we supposed to know that he's back to school because he couldn't come when he was supposed to?" she snapped, her large brown eyes flashing with anger. "We were saving you from getting expelled!"

Lucky scowled at her, shoving his long auburn hair out of his eyes. "Well, he wasn't a teacher, was he? He totally insulted me!" A.J. sighed. Lucky was impossible sometimes. It was all she could do right now to keep from whacking him over the head with her notebook.

Mini came up and wrapped her arms around Lucky's shoulders. "Hey, Lucky," she said breathily. "Hey, doll. Where's your boyfriend?" Lucky asked, looking around warily.

"Trying out for that game," she said vaguely. Lucky frowned. "What game?" he asked, swiveling around to face her.

"You know, that game where they throw around that funny looking ball and tackle each other," Mini said densely. "You mean football?" A.J. laughed scathingly. _Wow. She's dumber than I thought,_ A.J. thought.

Mini glared at her. "Maybe I'm not as smart as you, but I'll be in Vogue someday. Then we'll see who's laughing."

A.J. grinned and pretended to think. "Nope, it'll still be me," she said, just to provoke Mini.

Mini's face crumpled as she gave A.J. a dirty look. "At least I don't look like I have a permanent suntan," she said nastily.

A.J. rolled her eyes and snickered, pretending that Mini's comment about her Indian skin didn't sting. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

Mini was about to say something, but Lucky cut in. "Ladies, ladies, chill. We're all friends here. Now separate and shut up."

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Darry finally found the classroom. He was a couple of minutes early, but that was okay. He stopped outside to catch his breath. He had run as fast as he could to make it.

He looked around the classroom as he stepped in, looking for a place to sit…Then he spotted that girl he had met earlier. What was her name…A.J.? That was it.

He approached their table. "Excuse me, A.J. Do you mind if I sit here?" A.J. looked up and her eyes widened. "Oh, hi, Darry. Sure, I don't see why no-"

Lucky sat up and cut her off. "Excuse me," he mocked Darry. "But the senior citizen's table is over there." A.J. elbowed him. "Shut up. Don't mind him; you can sit here if you like."

"Thanks, but I can see I'm not wanted here," Darry said coolly and sat at the next desk over. Then the professor entered. He was a tall, round man with a trim mustache and thinning black hair.

He strode over to the students, who all immediately put their folders and books up over their faces. Darry saw why as the professor began talking. He spit after practically every syllable.

"Good morning, class." He strode up and down the rows between desks. "Ah, Lucky. Back again? No, no, don't bother to put your feet down. After three years, consider this classroom your home. In fact, you fall asleep so often, consider it your bedroom!"

He was clearly a bitter old man. Either that or he just liked to be mean. He moved on. "Ah, Percy. You're physics major, aren't you? Well, good luck! You'll need it," he laughed evilly and manically as Percy turned pale and swallowed hard.

Then he rounded on Darry. "You…" He got a nasty look on his face. "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," Darry said, a bit confused. "Well," the professor said. "Welcome to physics. I am Professor Chaplin. No relation to Charlie Chaplin." Professor Chaplin cracked up at his own pathetic joke.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Well, relax, relax. We'll start soon. How old are you, my boy?"

"I'm thirty, sir," Darry replied. "Thirty? Well, you're not much younger than I am. In that case, why don't you call me by my first name? It's Warren."

Darry was flabbergasted. "But, sir-" Professor Chaplin cut him off. "No, no, I insist," he said, barely concealing a wide, evil grin.

Behind him and around him, Darry could hear students tittering quietly. What he didn't suspect was that they were laughing quietly. Professor Chaplin was not a nice man, and he played this sort of nasty trick on every new student.

"Um," Darry said, unsuspecting. "Well, if you insist, um, Warren." The effect was electric.

Professor Chaplin slammed his hand on Darry's desk. "How dare you!" He spit. "How dare you! Stand up!" Darry stood up hastily. Professor Chaplin continued to roar. "How dare you! Follow me to the principal's office! Follow me! I said FOLLOW ME!"

Darry wiped the spit off his face, repulsed, and said shakily, "Sir, if you'd just walk ahead, I'd be able to follow you." It was true. Professor Chaplin had not budged an inch.

"Oh, cheeky, are we? Well, come on then!" He grabbed a shocked Darry by the arm and pulled him to the door. In the door frame, they ran into the principal.

"Principal! I want you to expel this not so young man immediately!" Professor Chaplin spit-shouted, jabbing his pointer finger at Darry. Darry ducked as the Professor's arm and spit came toward him.

"You're overreacting, Chaplin. Now, there's a new student here, named Darrel Curtis." Darry interrupted. "Principal? I'm Darrel Curtis!"

"Hmm? Oh, yes! Come with me," the principal said, pulling Darry to the front of the class.

"Class! This is Darrel Curtis, your new classmate! About ten or so years ago, Darrel had to give up college due to some family responsibilities. Now, he's back to complete his education! Who will help him find his way around the campus?"

Almost immediately, every student in the class hid their face behind their book. Darry whispered to the principal, "How about A.J.?"

"A.J.!" The principal shouted, pointing the wrong way. Darry gently pushed his arm in the right direction. "Right, A.J.!"

A.J. lowered her book, defeated, and moved over so Darry could share her desk. "Hello," Darry greeted. A.J. nodded awkwardly and rolled her eyes when Darry wasn't looking.

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For the rest of the day, A.J. showed Darry from class to class. They had a different schedule, so sometimes she had to give him directions and then rush off. Luckily, Darry was smart and caught on quick.

Truthfully, A.J. was a bit intimidated by him. He was so big, but friendly. Listening to him talk between classes, A.J. learned that he had two brothers, named Ponyboy and Sodapop, honestly, those were their real names, their Dad had been an original guy, well, had been, their parents had died in a car crash ten years ago, that was why Darry had given up college, to take care of his brothers, and now that they had some money he could go back to school.

A.J. thought that he had made a huge sacrifice for them. In all honesty, she didn't care much for his life story, but he had been so enthusiastic when she had asked him about himself that she didn't have the heart to tell him to shut up.

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The day was over. The rest of his classes had passed normally. His last class, calculus, had been canceled because they had not yet found a replacement teacher for Professor Nomi, who had retired.

Darry was exhausted, more mentally than physically. He went up to his dorm, carefully sidestepped the clutter, and flopped on his bed. He could hear the key turning in the lock a couple of minutes later, and sat up, eager to meet his roommate.

His roommate stepped in, and Darry's jaw dropped. His roommate's jaw dropped too. "You're my roommate!"

Darry scowled. "I could say the same for you." He was incredulous. "I don't believe it! _You're_ Roger Stanton!"

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Ooh, who's his roommate? Review and maybe you'll find out.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Man?

Disclaimer: Outsiders belongs to S.E. Hinton. But you knew that already.

Darry glared at his new roommate. "Well, clean up your side of the room! You're a slob!"

Lucky glared back at Darry. "It's my side of the room! If you don't like it, you clean it up. Want some pizza?" he added, picking the box off his bed, taking a slice and offering the box to Darry.

Darry shook his head disgustedly. "No thank you. How can you live like this? I'm surprised you don't have ants all over the place!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to be civilized, ya know, since we have to be stuck together all year. Seriously, you would be the last on my list of roommates. But we're stuck. So let's at least try to be semi friends, you dig?" Lucky finished his speech and held out a hand.

Darry looked at it for a second, and then sighed. He knew Lucky was right. He shook Lucky's hand. "By the way," Lucky said, grinning. "You're cool and all, but don't try to be like my old man and act like you get it."

"Act…? Like I get it?" Darry said, confused. "Yeah, you know," Lucky said, still smiling in a way that reminded Darry strongly of Two-Bit. "My old man, he thinks he knows everything about our generation. Like, he tries to talk, act, dress like us, be cool. He doesn't get it. He had his generation, this is ours."

Comprehension dawned on Darry's face. "Yeah, I get it. I know what you mean. But how old do you think I am? I'm not much older than you."

Lucky threw his head back and laughed, long and loud. "Not much older than me? You're what, forty?" This time it was Darry's turn to laugh. "Do I really look that old?"

"Naw, I was exaggerating. How old are you?" Lucky inquired, kind of curious. "I'm only thirty," Darry said defensively.

"Only!" Lucky snorted. "Yeah! And don't tell me about 'your generation'. It's my generation too! Believe it or not, I was a greaser until about five years ago, when the whole hippie scene took over."

"For real?" Lucky asked, shocked. "For real," Darry answered. "Got into rumbles and everything." He got quieter as he remembered the last real rumble he had been in, the one right before Johnny and Dally died. They had been just kids. They didn't deserve to die.

"Well, you're what, twenty-three? That's not that much of a difference," Darry said.

"Twenty-five," Lucky corrected. "I got held back twice." Darry nodded slowly. "They haven't thrown you out yet?"

"Nope. Search me why," Lucky added. "So, tell me," he said, sitting back. "How come you're here so late?"

Darry took a deep breath and told Lucky the entire story. When he finally finished, Lucky was gaping at him. "Wow," was all he could say. "You really gave up college for your brothers like that?"

"Yeah," Darry said. "I couldn't let us be separated. I mean, sure, there's times when I want to kill them, but I love them. They're all I got left." Lucky nodded contemplatively.

"So, _Roger,_ what's up with your name? Why does everyone around here have nicknames? I mean, does no one use their real name?" Darry asked.

"Well, see, it's like this," Lucky began.

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Lucky hadn't realized Darry could be such a cool guy. Lucky still couldn't get over the fact that Darry had been a greaser! This old, uptight, neatfreak, dude, had gotten into rumbles and all that? No way.

Then again, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it could be true. Darry was _big._ Not fat, but muscled. Like a football player. Darry interrupted Lucky's thoughts when he asked about the nicknames.

"Well, see, it's like this. No one around here really likes their real name. Only our parents and teachers call us by our real names. I mean, they're _boring._ Nicknames are just another way to bring down the man."

Darry looked confused. "The…man? What man? The principal?" Lucky rolled his eyes. A.J. was rubbing off on him. "Come on. You said you knew our generation, _old man," _he teased. Darry scowled. "I don't know _everything, _but it's not that different. Just explain."

"The man. The man is just…I don't know. Authority in general. Whatever holds back our freedom is 'the man.' And you can't let the man keep you down," Lucky explained.

"Okay," Darry said, trying to digest this. "Keep going."

"Well, like I said. Dressing grungy, doing weed and stuff, breaking rules. It's not to be cool…well, maybe it is if you're a poser. But it's about freedom, doing what you want, when you want." Lucky finished, satisfied.

Darry nodded. "So…do kids come here with this attitude or do you get it here?"

"It's all about finding your identity. Some find it here, some find it in high school, some find it later, and some never find it. They generally end up working for the fuzz," he said, grinning.

"Like, take A.J. for example. She's Indian. Her real name's Anjali Jahaji. She comes from an all Indian family, and she lived in an all Indian neighborhood all her life. She speaks Hindi and all that," Lucky explained.

"She's an honors student, finished half her education with AP classes in high school, got straight A's, never did drugs or anything, and was basically the perfect Indian kid. But she's got her own identity. She tried a cancer stick, hated it, that's okay. She's an art major, 'cause she loves it. She's her own person," Lucky said.

Darry nodded understandingly. "I think I get it now," he said. He glanced at his watch. "Holy—!" he swore. "What?" Lucky demanded, concerned.

"It's almost eleven! And I haven't started my homework," Darry groaned. He pulled out his books and started working. Lucky shrugged and lay back on his bed. "Whatever, man. You worry too much."

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Darry tried to work, but his head was still reeling from what Lucky had told him. The man? Whatever. The world had sure changed in ten years.

He gave up at two a.m. He would finish his physics paper tomorrow. It wasn't due for another day anyway. He made short work of the rest of his work and fell back, exhausted.

It seemed that only five minutes later, the alarm rang. It was seven a.m. Lucky was still sleeping, snoring loudly. Twenty minutes later, when Darry was ready, he decided that he probably should wake up Lucky.

"Lucky? Lucky. LUCKY!" Darry yelled in his ear, shaking him. Lucky snored on. He finally rolled Lucky right out of his bed. Landing with a thump, Lucky woke up with a jerk mid-snore.

"Eh? What's going on?" He asked, his words slurred with sleep. "Wake up, dude. Class starts at eight. I'm outta here. I'm getting breakfast," Darry said, grabbing his key and his books.

"See ya later, man," Lucky said, yawning and waving half-heartedly. Darry waved back and left, slamming the door behind him.

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Darry had found the classrooms fairly quickly that morning. Now, he bought himself lunch and looked around the outdoors cafeteria for a place to sit.

He found Lucky and A.J. goofing around, throwing paper wads at each other. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked. A.J. nodded. "Whatever, man, it's a free country," she said, ducking as a paper wad flew at her head.

Darry sat down and ate quietly, not paying attention to what was going on around him. He only looked up when people started shouting. He saw a crowd of people around a table.

He went over and looked over most people's heads, seeing Lucky arm wrestling with a younger kid. There was a long line of guys waiting at arm wrestle Lucky. Lucky pinned the other guy's hand down flat. This continued for each guy, until Lucky came to the end of the line.

"How about you, old man?" Lucky teased him, grinning at him. Darry shrugged. What did he have to lose?

It was a close battle, but finally Darry managed to pin down Lucky's hand. Lucky rubbed his hand in pain. "Man. You put up a fight," he said admiringly.

Darry grinned. "Hey, I'm not that old." The cafeteria started emptying. Darry glanced at his watch. "Time for class, I guess."

Walking to class, Darry contemplated that being at college really wasn't so bad after all. A.J. hurried past him. She turned back and tugged at his sleeve. "Hurry, man! We're gonna be late!"

"What's your rush? It's just calculus," Darry said. "There's no professor."

"Not anymore! The new professor got here today!" A.J. yelped, running on. _Yikes! I'm gonna be late!_ Darry thought, panicking, and running after A.J.

He ran up the two flights of stairs, breathing hard. He dove into his seat just in time. _Phew, _he thought. _Just in time._

The professor stepped in, saying, "Good afternoon, class." Darry looked up and he froze. _Is _that_ our new professor?_

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Who's the new professor? Is it someone from Darry's past? Read and Review. I might not update for a while because I start high school soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Disclaimer: S.E. Hinton owns the outsiders. I only own the plot, the people Darry meets at college (A.J., Lucky, random students, the professors, the principal, you know) and soon, if I am lucky, I will own a pair of green high-top Converses.

The new professor stepped into the room. "Good afternoon, class," she said. "I am Professor Hart." Darry put his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his hand. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He wondered subconsciously he was drooling. He jerked out of his state as she began the lesson. _There goes my Calculus grade,_ Darry thought happily. _And I don't even care. Is this what Soda felt like when he loved Sandy?_

He stared at her throughout the entire lesson, not hearing a single word she said. He was too busy watching the way her brown hair curled just right, the way her celery-colored eyes sparkled when she was explaining an equation…

Someone was nudging him. "Eh?" he asked stupidly. It was Lucky. "Hey, moron, the lesson's over." It was true. All around, students were packing up and leaving.

Outside the classroom, Lucky nudged Darry again. "Ooh, looks like our old man's got a crush," he teased. Darry nodded happily, and was surprised when Lucky bopped him on the back of his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Darry demanded, glaring at Lucky. Lucky took a step back, apparently not wanting to provoke Darry, but went on anyway. "Man, are you nuts? You must be! A teacher, Darry?"

Darry looked at his feet. "I didn't _ask_ to fall in love with a teacher. It just happened. And boy, does it feel nice…" he added dreamily. Lucky bonked him again, putting him out of his dreamy state.

"Darry, you're crazy! You're hearing wedding bells that'll turn into your funeral bells if you don't snap out of it," exclaimed A.J.

Darry shrugged, not caring. He practically skipped to his next class.

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Watching Darry bounce off, Lucky and A.J. exchanged glances. "He's in over his head," groaned A.J. Lucky nodded in agreement. "It was nice knowing him," he said sympathetically.

They walked to their next class, which they also shared. "Love does weird things to people," A.J. remarked quietly, avoiding making eye contact with Lucky.

Lucky shrugged. He winked to a passing Mini as she flounced past. A.J. sighed to herself. _He's never going to love me back. And can that slut's skirt get any shorter? _

Jay gave Lucky a dirty look and shoved him, hard. Lucky fell against A.J., who fell over. Being short had major disadvantages. "Watch it!" she yelled at Jay. She picked herself up off the ground. Grousing to herself, she ran to catch up with Skate and Pepsi.

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Later, in his dorm, Darry was sitting on his bed, staring at his Calculus homework. He didn't understand a word of it. "Lucky? Do you get this? I don't," he said, turning to Lucky, who was pulling on his jacket.

"Ask me later," he said. "I've got a date." Darry shrugged. "Okay," he said, slightly annoyed. He would have to start paying attention in class, no matter how hard it would be.

The phone rang. Darry jumped. He hadn't noticed that there before. Probably because it was buried under Lucky's socks. He picked it up carefully, trying to avoid the socks as much as possible. "Hello?" he said curiously.

"Hey, Darry." It was A.J. "Listen, some of us are going to the movies in town. Do you and Lucky want to come?"

"Lucky isn't here," he said. "Well then, you come," said A.J., sounding kind of impatient. "Meet us at the cafeteria in ten minutes. If you're not there, we're leaving." She hung up.

Darry grabbed his jacket and key and hurried to the cafeteria. A.J. was there, along with some kids she introduced as Skate, Pepsi, Speed, Strawberry, Andy, and Oak. Darry recognized some of them, but only from class.

They all piled into Speed's car uncomfortably and took off. As soon as Speed hit the gas, Darry was thrown back against his seat. _That's probably why they call him Speed,_ he thought.

His eyes widened as the needle rose rapidly from eighty to ninety to a hundred, pushing a hundred five miles per hour. It was all he could do not to panic, but the others seemed to find this perfectly normal.

He was thrown forward when Speed hit the brakes, hard. He spotted Lucky in the distance with Mini. A.J. apparently had seen them too. Her jaw clenched and she turned the other way.

They bought tickets for a Bugs Bunny movie and found seats. It wasn't Darry's first choice of a movie, but he didn't care, so long as he had some friends.

When the movie started, Darry wondered if they had only agreed on the movie because they were practically the only people in the theater. There were a few other kids, goofing off in their seats.

Darry and A.J. tried to watch the movie and ignore Speed, who was running around laughing like a maniac, Pepsi, who was gulping down can after can of the sweet soda, and Strawberry and Oak, who were making out.

_Ponyboy would get along just fine with Pepsi,_ Darry thought, recalling Ponyboy's addiction to that particular beverage. A.J. offered Darry some popcorn. Besides himself, Darry thought that she was the only sane person there.

As the movie progressed, Darry began to suspect that Speed was on speed. Skate tried to make out with A.J., but she dumped her popcorn over his head. _College kids today are certainly…interesting,_ Darry thought as Andy staggered around, acting like he was drunk.

"Hey, hey, A.J.!" shouted a redheaded girl from three rows down. "What?" A.J. shouted back. "Have you seen Root Beer?"

A.J. shrugged. "I think he got thrown out of the theater," she called back. "Why?" asked the redhead. "I think he asked the guy at the concession stand for root beer without the root!" A.J. hollered, laughing. Even Darry cracked a grin at that.

Finally the movie ended, and they sped back to the dorms. "See ya!" and "'Night!" could be heard from everybody as they traipsed off to their rooms.

Darry found Lucky hopping up and down in front of their room. "What are you doing?" Darry demanded. "I forgot my key," Lucky said, embarrassed. He stopped hopping. "I was waiting for you."

Darry sighed and opened the room. "Well, goodnight," Darry said sleepily, flopping on his bed and falling asleep almost immediately. It had been a long night, and Darry dreamed happily.

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Well, whaddya think? Review.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: First Letter Home

Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does. I am writing this for my own amusement. I own the plot and random people.

The next morning, Lucky rolled over groggily and opened his eyes. As the room came into focus, he saw Darry frantically scribbling and erasing.

"What are you doing?" Lucky asked, stretching. "Calculus," Darry said. "I've gotta finish it before class." His words came out in a rush as he wrote frantically.

Lucky shrugged and glanced at the clock. "Cripes, Darry! Physics starts in twenty minutes!" Darry nodded, scribbling random answers for the last four problems and shoving it into his backpack.

"C'mon, man!" Darry said in an urgent voice. Lucky quickly dressed, somehow managing to get everything right except for mismatched socks, and the two of them dashed out the door.

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Lucky followed Darry the best he could, but couldn't keep up. He staggered into Physics a couple of minutes after Darry and collapsed into his seat next to A.J., breathing hard.

Professor Chaplin stood at the front of the class. "Well, class, your Physics assignment is due today! I hope you worked hard on it, if you morons did it at all!" He cackled madly, his maniacal laughter turning into a grating cough.

He went around the classroom, collecting papers. Lucky rummaged around in his backpack. He was positive he'd done it…hadn't he?

_Flashback: Lucky was at the outdoors cafeteria with Mini, drinking a soda. Too bad they didn't sell beer on campus. _

_A.J. was over at the next table, writing frantically. "You work yourself too hard, A.J.," Lucky said lazily. _

"_At least I bother to work," she shot back nastily. Lucky raised an eyebrow. He leaned over and snatched the paper from in front of her. _

"_Hey!" A.J. protested, trying to grab it back. Lucky held it out of her reach as she leapt around him, trying to grab it from him, but it was no use. He was a foot taller than her. Mini giggled idiotically._

_Finally, Skate took pity and snatched it from Lucky, handing it back to A.J. "Thanks, Skate," she said gratefully, glaring at Lucky._

_As she sat back down and continued at write, Lucky leaned over and caught sight of her paper. "'Physics: Assignment Seven,'" Lucky read aloud. "Man, A.J., I knew you were an overachiever, but this is too much. That's not due for another week!"_

_A.J. looked up at him like he was demented. "That's what Professor Chaplin told us a week ago," she said witheringly. "It's due tomorrow."_

_Lucky blinked. He hadn't even started it. "Oh," was all he could manage. "Any chance of me copying off of you?" he asked hopefully. "No," said A.J. lightly. _

_Lucky shrugged. "Whatever," he said breezily. "I'll just do it later." End Flashback. _

Oh. Whoops. Lucky put his head down on his desk. "I'm dead," he groaned. He glared at A.J. "This is your entire fault," he said accusingly. A.J. sputtered indignantly.

"Excuse me?" she said angrily. "Why, pray tell, is it _my_ fault you were too lazy to do your own work?"

"You wouldn't let me copy off you!" Lucky whined. A.J. rolled her eyes.

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Honestly, Lucky was just too much sometimes. How the hell was it A.J.'s fault that Lucky hadn't done his work because she hadn't let him copy off her?

Meanwhile, Professor Chaplin come to their table and leaned on it. "Lucky? Wake up, sleepyhead!" Lucky looked up and started at the sight of Professor Chaplin leaning over him.

"Where's your homework, Lucky?" he asked nastily. Lucky turned pale and started stuttering. "Um, I, um, uh," was all he could say. Professor Chaplin cackled evilly.

Lucky felt around the desk and grabbed A.J.'s homework. She noticed just in time and wrested it from his hands. He ducked under the table, stalling for time.

"Yes, yes," Professor Chaplin laughed maniacally. "Look under there too, but if it's not there, I suggest you start to pray!"

Lucky straightened up, defeated. "I haven't got it," he said quietly. Professor Chaplin just laughed harder. A.J. looked sympathetically at Lucky, whose face was now bright red. Students tittered.

Professor banged his fist on Lucky's desk. "I want that assignment tomorrow, Lucky," he said. Lucky sighed in relief, obviously thinking that he had gotten off easily. A.J. wondered briefly what Chaplin would say next.

"But," Chaplin continued. Lucky looked up in fear. "I want that assignment copied over FIVE TIMES! Handwritten or done on the library's typewriter! Understood!"

A.J.'s brain screamed out in protest against this unfairness. Then again, Lucky did deserve it. Lucky seemed to think the same thing. He slouched in his seat. "Understood," he muttered sullenly.

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Darry thought that was fair enough. After all, it was Lucky's fault he hadn't done the work. Darry rummaged in his own backpack, looking for his work. For one horrible moment, he thought he hadn't done it. Then he found it. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He handed it to Professor Chaplin, who grunted in disappointment that he hadn't been able to give out any more punishments.

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But while Lucky was failing Physics, Darry was failing Calculus. Professor Hart shook her head at Darry as she handed back his test paper. He jumped in shock when he saw it. "I got a D!" He yelped.

Professor Hart shook her head sadly at him. "Study harder next time, Darry," she said. Darry put his head down on his desk. _I'll never get this,_ he mourned.

He lifted his head and tried to pay attention to what she was saying. He kept his head bent most of the time, taking notes, so he wouldn't be distracted by her sparkling green eyes, and her long, silky hair, and—Focus, Darry, focus!

At the end of class, he vowed to ask someone for help.

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"A.J.!" A.J. turned around at the sound of her name. It was the end of the day and she was headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Her stomach growled ravenously. She saw Darry running towards her.

"Yeah?" she asked curiously. "Hey, um, A.J.? This is kind of awkward, but, do you think you could tutor me? In Calculus?" Darry asked, looking anxious. A.J. shrugged.

"Sure, I don't see why not. When?" Now it was Darry's turn to shrug. "I don't know. Anytime. But I need help, desperately!"

A.J. smiled knowingly. "Ah. Having trouble focusing because of the teacher?" Darry smiled, pleased that she understood. "Exactly!" he said.

A.J. shifted uncomfortably as her stomach growled again. "Whaddya say we go to the cafeteria? I'm starved," she suggested. "I can start helping you there."

Darry nodded. "Okay," he consented.

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A.J. swallowed her pizza and exclaimed, "No! Where are you getting these answers from?"

Darry sagged. "I'll never get this," he groaned, throwing down his pencil. A.J. handed it back to him. "Maybe we should continue this tomorrow," she said gently.

Darry nodded. "Yeah," he said almost distantly. "Maybe."

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Dear Soda and Pony,

Man, college is different than I expected. Everybody here has some kind of nickname, for one thing.

Like, my roommate's name is Lucky. And his girlfriend's name is Mini. Even the professors call them that!

And speaking of professors, most of them are normal. But Professor Chaplin is something else. He's the Physics professor, and he seems to take great pleasure in making student's lives miserable.

And I'm failing Calculus, thanks to Professor Hart. Don't get me wrong, she's great and all. She's really great. I can't concentrate because I think I love her. She's smart and pretty…

So I'm failing. And one of my friends, A.J., is tutoring me. I still don't get it, though. Maybe Calculus just isn't for me.

The kids around here are wild. Like us when we were greasers, except without the grease.

Lucky explained it to me, sort of. They're all about freedom, do what you want, when you want, and don't let the Man keep you down. I don't understand it at all. But I don't think going back to school was a bad idea. Thanks for that, guys.

Anyway, I'm rambling. How's things over there? Say hi to Steve and Evie and their kids for me. Good luck with that new novel, Pony. And Soda, never stop being Soda. We need someone to cheer us up.

I heard Two-Bit's here coming to Chicago for a show. I'll go see him if I can. I wonder if his jokes are anything like the lame ones he used to tell that made us laugh anyway.

I miss you guys, but hopefully I'll be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Love, Darry.

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Review and tell me what you think. I mean it! Review!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: What's Going On In Tulsa

Disclaimer: See last chapter's disclaimer.

Sodapop came home from work in a bad mood, which, these days, wasn't that unusual. The poor guy was lonely.

He made himself purple pancakes for dinner and ate it while watching The Brady Bunch. It was a dumb show, but nothing else was on.

He went out for his mail when it came and made short work of most of it. "Bill…bill…junk mail…" he muttered to himself as he went through the mail.

His eyes widened when he found the one significant letter. "Holy—! Darry's writing home!" Soda screamed to no one in particular.

He ripped the envelope in half in his haste and read the letter three times over. He called up Ponyboy immediately after and read the letter to him over the phone.

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Ponyboy picked up the phone. It was Soda! He was so glad. He was seriously considering going back home.

He didn't like New York so much anymore. It was great for a visit, but he had had enough of it. And his girlfriend, Lisa, was driving him insane!

She nagged, went out without him more and more, and was sour and crabby. Not to mention she was a mean drunk. She could be sweet when she wanted to be, but that was getting to be less and less.

He decided that he would have to break up with her.

He told all this to Soda over the phone. "So, I was wondering…could I come back home?" Ponyboy asked pleadingly. There was a long pause on the other line.

"Soda?" Ponyboy said cautiously. "I could get a job, you know, help with the bills and everything, and I could—" he said quickly, thinking that Soda was going to say no.

"Of COURSE you can, Pony!" Soda practically screamed on the other line. "Man, it'd be great to have somebody else around here! When can you come?" he asked eagerly.

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Soda was literally jumping up and down with the phone in his hand. He felt like he was four again.

His prayers had been answered! Ponyboy was coming home! And Darry would be too…well, for the holidays. But that wasn't _too _far away.

_Somebody up there really likes me,_ Soda thought happily. He hung up a few minutes later after Ponyboy decided he would be there in a day.

"I have some things to…take care of," Ponyboy had said mysteriously. Soda shrugged it off. He was too happy for words.

He danced all around the kitchen, waltzing and tangoing with himself until he crashed into the door. _Hmmm. Maybe I should contain myself just a little,_ he thought as a bump on his forehead swelled up.

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Meanwhile, Ponyboy waited, watching T.V., for Lisa to come back. Several times he drifted off, but jerked back awake. He finally fell fast asleep.

He was woken by someone shaking him gently. "Pony? Wake up. It's seven a.m." Ponyboy sat up straight and looked around. Damn. He had fallen asleep.

Lisa led him gently into the kitchen. "Want some breakfast?" she offered, smiling. Ponyboy shook his head slightly. He was still kind of groggy.

Something wasn't right. He had to do something…oh yeah. "Lisa?" Ponyboy started tentatively. Lisa turned around from the eggs she was frying.

"Yes?" she asked, eyes filled with curiosity. Ponyboy took a deep breath. Lisa was a sweet girl, but he couldn't handle living with her anymore. He hated breakups.

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_Ding, dong!_ The doorbell rang. Soda dived for the door. He flung it open. The eager look on his handsome face was replaced with one of disappointment. "Oh. It's just you," he said grumpily.

"Well, that makes me feel loved," Steve teased. Soda sighed. "Sorry, man. It's just that I'm expecting somebody."

"Who?" asked Steve curiously. "Pony'scomingback!" Soda said in a rush. Steve stared at him. "Huh?" he said, a look of annoyance and confusion on his face.

Soda tried to contain himself. "Pony's coming back home to STAY!" he screamed, prancing around.

Steve grinned widely. He and Ponyboy still weren't the best of friends, but they had matured enough to accept each other. "Really? You're not pulling my leg?"

Soda shook his head. "Nope! He's coming, he's coming, he's coming!" He stopped dancing long enough to ask Steve, "Why've you come here anyway?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Hey, doofus, I'm here to pick you up for work." Soda sagged. He didn't feel like working. He was too excited. But, he had to pay the bills somehow.

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Soda flopped in his chair. It had been a long day at work. He was getting kind of tired of girls hanging around giggling their heads off, doing nothing. Today he had dared to ask a really young looking girl, "Shouldn't you be at school?" She had just laughed in his face.

The doorbell rang. Soda heaved himself up off the chair and stumped to the door. He opened it with a bad grace, but his mood was alleviated almost immediately.

"PONY!" he screamed. "SODA!" Ponyboy yelled in turn, and they hugged in the doorframe.

Soda grabbed Ponyboy's bags and threw them into their old room. "Man, it's great to be back home," Ponyboy exclaimed, shrugging off his jacket. Soda noticed a scar on Pony's forehead.

"Pony, what hit you?" Soda demanded. Pony looked sheepish. "My girlfriend. I broke up with her over breakfast, and she hit me with the frying pan and kicked me out."

"Ouch," Soda said sympathetically. Ponyboy shrugged. "I guess I deserved it. I wasn't very kind about it."

Soda shrugged. "You did what you had to do," he said nonchalantly. "So," Ponyboy said, trying to change the subject. "What's for dinner?"

Soda grinned. "Green macaroni and red mashed potatoes. Want to help me cook?"

Ponyboy grinned. Just like old times.

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Two weeks later, another letter arrived from Darry. Pony and Soda tore it open like wild animals.

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Dear Soda and Pony,

Glad to hear Pony's moved back in. It'll be just like old times once I come home.

Two-Bit's comedy show's in a couple of days. He's already here, and said he sent a few tickets to Tulsa since he didn't know I was here.

You guys should come up to see the show if you can. I know I want to. Except you have my ticket.

College's fine. Still failing Calculus. A.J.'s helping me some, but she's not exactly a math whiz either.

Sometimes, I wonder, was it really such a good idea to come back to school? But when I think about it, yes.

Anyway, I enclosed some money for your train fare. Come over soon. I can't wait to see you guys again.

Your brother, Darry.

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Sure enough, there was a letter from Two-Bit, too, with a program and three tickets. Soda called Steve. He was going too, but Evie didn't want to come.

"We're going to see Darry!" Pony exclaimed in disbelief. Things were going great!

Then a chill ran up his spine. Things were going great…_too_ great. Something was bound to happen, and soon.

Pony shook away his feelings. What could possibly go wrong?

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Find out, but only if you review. I'm not updating until I get some more reviews. Seriously, I want to know what you think! Flame me if you want, just tell me how you like it.

BTW, could somebody help me out? I don't know what calculus is. Could someone tell me, so I can write about Darry's calculus troubles without feeling like a moron because I don't know if I'm going to say something stupid?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: In Chicago at Last

Disclaimer: See any one of the previous chapters.

Soda stepped off the train onto the platform, listening to Steve and Ponyboy bicker in the background. Something about politics or something else Soda didn't understand or care about.

A grimy guy rammed right into Soda, almost knocking him over. "Hey, watch it, man!" he snapped. The guy turned, his eyes wild and crazy, and grabbed Soda by the shoulders. "They're after me!" he yelled.

"W-who's after you?" Soda asked, feeling a bit scared. The guy just kept shaking him and yelling, "They're after me! They're after me!" He finally let go and kept running.

_That was weird,_ Soda thought. Two men wearing white suits ran by. "Excuse me, sir," one stopped and asked him. "Did a crazy man just run by here?"

"Uh, yeah," Soda said, confused. "He went that way," he said, pointing. The men in white ran on. One of them was holding a syringe. _That was even weirder,_ Soda thought.

He looked around. Um. Where were they supposed to go? "Pony?" Soda tried, turning to Stave and Pony. Ponyboy ignored him and continued arguing with Steve.

"Pony?" Soda was annoyed. He didn't appreciate being ignored. "PONY!" he finally yelled, attracting the attention of Ponyboy and more than a few passengers. Soda couldn't have cared less, as long as he had his brother's attention.

"Pony," he said desperately, lowering his voice. "Where are we supposed to go?" Ponyboy stared at him. "Why're you asking me, Soda? Just check the tickets."

Soda blinked, a horrible feeling settling in his stomach. "Y-you mean, you don't have the tickets?"

Ponyboy shook his head, looking almost fourteen again and in trouble. Soda swallowed. "We're screwed," he said with some finality.

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Steve rolled his eyes. Honestly, Soda just hadn't grown up and Ponyboy _still_ didn't use his head. "Guys," he said, irked.

"What?" Soda finally freaked, jumping half a mile at the sound of Steve's voice. Steve held up the tickets. Soda's jaw dropped and Ponyboy started sputtering. "But-what-why-HOW?"

"You left them on the table. I saw them just before we left," Steve explained. Soda sighed in relief. "Man, Steve, what would we do without you?"

"You'd be stranded in Chicago is what you'd be. Now let's go, we're gonna be late!" Steve was right. They barely had an hour to find the center and take their seats for Two-Bit's show.

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"Whew, we made it!" Soda said in relief and exhaustion. Ponyboy just shook his head. "Chicago's waaaay too much for me. Give me Tulsa any day," he groaned.

They had spent ten minutes trying to hail a cab. They finally got a girl to get one for them, and Soda practically had to shake her off. They had been thrown out halfway because they discovered that they didn't have two cents between them for cab fare, so they had walked the remaining eighteen blocks.

"Soda! Pony! Steve!" The three of them whipped around at the sound of that familiar voice. "Darry!" yelped Soda, practically throwing himself at Darry.

"Ouch! Soda, cut that out," Darry said without much reprieve in his voice. He was grinning widely despite himself.

"Darry? You're here too?" Darry turned at the sound of that voice. His eyes widened. "A.J.?" he said, astonished. "What're you doing here?" he asked, rather stupidly.

"I'm stalking you," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "No, I'm here with some friends," she said, jerking a thumb back at a bunch of college kids. "My cousin's performing. Tanuja Patel." She turned and yelled to them, "Hey, guys! Over here!"

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A.J. turned to Darry. "So, why're you here?" she asked curiously. "I'm here because one of my old friends is performing tonight. Two-B—I mean, _Keith_ Matthews," he said. "We used to call him Two-Bit."

A.J. nodded understandingly. "I see," she said. "So, who was that guy who practically tackled you?" she asked, glancing behind Darry at them. She wasn't tall enough to look over his shoulder.

Darry turned and called to them, "Guys! Over here!" The three of them wandered over, looking kind of curiously at A.J.

He introduced them and A.J. introduced Darry, Soda, Steve and Ponyboy to her friends, Skate, Lucky, and Sunny.

People started heading in. "We'd better go in," Darry suggested. Steve and Soda were just being themselves, Ponyboy and A.J. were deep in discussion about a book called _To Kill a Mockingbird,_ and Lucky was goofing off with Skate, throwing paper wads at Sunny.

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Darry's ribs hurt and tears were sliding down his red face. He had never laughed so hard in his life. He had no idea Two-Bit could be so funny.

Ponyboy was practically choking, and A.J. was trying to get him to take deep breaths between giggles.

Soda and Steve were falling all over themselves in their seats, trying to keep control. And they weren't alone, either. Darry could barely hear himself think in all the ruckus.

"…And then he says, 'Man, that was my last tomato!'" Two-Bit delivered the punch line. He waited for the erupting laughter to die down before he announced, "Alright that was my last one. I gotta go, see ya'll later!" He bounded energetically off the stage to tremendous applause.

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Two-Bit waved to Darry over his fans' heads. Darry towered over most of them, so he was spotted easily.

"Two-Bit, meet Lucky, Sunny, Skate and A.J. They go to college with me," Darry introduced them. He looked around. "Hey, where'd A.J. go?" he said.

Soda shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "Pony, did you see-? Hey. Where'd he go too?" A look of perverted realization spread across Steve's face.

"Don't even say it, because you're _way_ off course," a voice snapped from behind him. Steve turned to see an irate A.J. and a blushing Ponyboy. "We were just meeting my cousin, Tanuja."

Steve shrugged, unabashed. "Whatever."

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Late that night, Darry collapsed on his bed, exhausted. It was four a.m. and Soda, Steve, and Ponyboy had just caught the late night train back to Tulsa.

_Flashback: The train whistle sounded. Ponyboy and Soda hugged Darry one last time. Soda turned to Darry with a pained expression. "Couldn't we have stayed with you one last night?" he pleaded. _

"_Soda, I already told you, there's just no room!" Darry protested. "Yeah," Ponyboy interjected with an expression similar to Soda's. "But it's three a.m. and usually only J.D.'s are out in Tulsa. This is Chicago. Creeps and weirdoes are out at this hour."_

_Darry just shook his head. "Don't let it slip, but I room with one. So shut up and get going before the train leaves without you."_

_The train pulled out of the station. A.J., Lucky and their friends had long gone back to the dorms. Darry turned to Two-Bit, who was waving back to Steve in the window. _

"_Well, see you around, I guess," Darry said. "Man, you were good. You weren't so funny when I saw you last."_

_Two-Bit grinned. "I was nineteen," he reminded Darry. "I'm twenty-eight now. I've finally grown up."_

_Darry smirked. "About time, too," he teased, and ducked Two-Bit's swing before saying goodbye until who knows when. End flashback._

Darry buried his head in his pillow and fell asleep, dreaming happily until the alarm rang at six the next morning.

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Kind of a stupid chapter, right? I didn't know what else to put up.

Many thanks to the reviewer who explained calculus to me. I didn't understand a word of it. Not surprising, since I'm failing Geometry. But thanks anyway. :

Review, and the next chapter will come up.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Of Engagements and Drugs

Darry rolled sleepily off the bed, groaning. _Six a.m.! That's too early for me,_ he thought irately. He turned to see Lucky snoring peacefully.

_I should let him sleep,_ Darry thought. _His classes don't start until eight. _Too bad for Lucky Darry was in an evil mood.

Darry marched over to Lucky's bed, shook him violently, yelling "WAKE UP!" and rolling him, bedcovers and all, onto the floor.

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Lucky groaned. Why did Darry have to be so evil? He had a massive headache and he felt sick to his stomach. He had woken up twice last night to throw up.

He probably shouldn't have gone off with Speed to try speed for the first time. _Never again,_ Lucky thought miserably. He had liked it so much it scared him, and the consequences weren't worth it.

He opened his eyes reluctantly and turned over to scowl at Darry.

"High!" Darry yelped. Lucky panicked and started to say, "No! I can explain!" when he realized from Darry's wide grin that he was probably just saying hello.

"Oh. Hi, Darry," Lucky said. Darry squinted at him. "Lucky? You alright? You look a little pale," he said, concerned. "Uh, I'm fine," Lucky lied.

Darry wasn't entirely convinced. He leaned a bit closer and sniffed. "What's that smell?" he asked suspiciously. "Nothing!" Lucky said too quickly. He leaped up and ran into the bathroom before Darry could figure it out.

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Huh. Lucky was sure acting weird. But right now, that was the least of Darry's problems. "Lucky!" he bellowed, banging on the bathroom door. "Get out! My classes start before yours!"

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Lucky flopped down at the table in the outdoors cafeteria where A.J. was sitting. She peered at him concernedly.

"Lucky? You okay?" she asked. She crinkled her nose at him. "What's that smell? Did you change cologne or something?"

"Uh, yeah," Lucky lied. A.J. frowned at him. "You smell kind of like Speed does," she remarked, realizing the meaning behind these words just as she said them.

"Oh, Lucky, you didn't!" she groaned, as Lucky ducked sheepishly behind his sandwich. "Lucky! You're lucky you didn't die, or have a bad trip, or whatever," A.J. babbled, clearly upset.

"A.J., calm down! People are staring," Lucky said, looking around warily. "Anyway, I feel sick to my stomach. That's the last time I do anything like that."

"Good," snapped A.J., thoroughly relieved. _I swear, Lucky is such a dope! He's gonna get himself killed one of these days!_ A.J. thought miserably.

"Oh, god," Lucky groaned quietly. "I think I'm gonna be sick." A.J. moved away carefully. "Not on my term paper, you're not," she said warningly.

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Darry took a deep breath as Ms. Hart came around with the test papers. _Alright, Darry. You can do this. You studied, and asked A.J. for help, and all that jazz. You can do this._

He stared at the paper in front of him. _I can't do this!_ Darry thought, panicking.

After class, Darry stopped by to talk to Ms. Hart. "Um, Ms. Hart?"

She turned around from erasing the chalkboard. "Yes, Darrel?" she said kindly. "Um…" Darry was suddenly at a loss for words. He shook himself mentally and tried to focus.

"Yeah. Um, I don't think I'm doing so well in Calculus. Do you know where I can get some help?" Ms. Hart considered his question for a moment.

"Yes, Darry, I do know of a student group on campus that can help you. I just wonder where I put that information…" She wandered over to her desk and started sifting through drawers, looking for that information.

The light hit her hand, and something glinted off her ring finger. Darry stared at it. It couldn't be…could it?

Ms. Hart noticed Darry staring and smiled. She held up her left hand. "Like it?" she asked, smiling. "I just got engaged last weekend."

Darry froze. Engaged? "Oh…I'm happy for you," Darry said, trying to smile. Ms. Hart smiled prettily. "Thank you, Darrel. Oh, here's that packet."

She handed him a packet of papers. "Thanks," he said, trying to stay cool. "I'll…I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said, already backing away.

"Alright, Darrel. You take care," Ms. Hart said, waving. Darry waved back, trying to grin, but his heart was breaking.

_Alright, no need to be so dramatic,_ Darry scolded himself. _What chance did I have with her anyway? None, that's what, so what did I lose? Nothing._ He was trying to lie to himself. It wasn't working.

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"What's wrong?" Lucky demanded as soon as Darry stepped into the room. "Nothing," Darry said casually.

Lucky didn't believe him for a second. Darry looked…lost, almost. Or like he had been hit by a truck. When Lucky said so, however, Darry merely scowled at him.

"You shut your trap," he snarled. _Man, he's touchy,_ Lucky thought. _Something's definitely up._ He didn't push the subject, however, and put on his jacket and went out.

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Darry tried to focus, but he just couldn't. He shoved aside his books and turned in for an early night.

He was woken rudely an hour later by the ringing phone. "What?" he answered irritably.

"Gosh, Darry," someone said teasingly on the other line. "What's got you so cranky?"

"Soda! Hi!" Darry yelped happily, springing up, all sleepiness and sorrow forgotten. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just calling…have you by any chance seen the news?" Soda's voice sounded kind of strained.

Darry frowned. "No," he replied. "Why?" he added suspiciously. "Just get any newspaper and read the headline," Soda said pleadingly. "You have to see this."

Darry knew Soda meant business, so he grabbed the _Chicago Tribune,_ which he picked up every day on campus. He hadn't had much of a chance to look at it today, since he was wallowing in his misery.

He glanced at the headlines and his eyes widened. "No way!" he exclaimed.

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What happened? Review to find out. Ha, Ha, I know, you don't.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Innocent or Guilty?

Darry was stunned. "No way!" he repeated, staring at the headline. "But…Soda, what does this have to do with—?"

"Just read it," Soda said frantically. "Read the whole article! I just don't wanna believe it, Darry," he said, sounding upset. "He seemed like such a great guy when we met him."

"It's gonna be okay, Soda," Darry tried to soothe his brother. "It's gonna be alright, Pepsi-Cola. It's gonna be okay…" Now he was just saying that to calm himself. _Wait. We know the guy? Who? WHO? _

"Darry? I've got to go. I'll call you later, okay?" Soda's voice sounded tinny and distant over the line. Darry could barely hear him. His ears were ringing as he read the rest of the article.

"University Student Arrested for Murder and Alleged Possession of Illegal Substances," the headline screamed in bold letters.

Darry hung up the phone when he realized he was hearing a dial tone, and sat down to continue reading.

"University of Chicago student Larry Hughes has been arrested on count of premeditated murder.

Hughes was allegedly stoned and with friends when he stabbed 22-year-old Alfonso Rodriguez, also a student of the university, outside a movie theater.

Hughes has been questioned and a trial date is yet to be made. His friends, Jason Shah, Nelson Williams and Roger Stanton, are suspected to be accomplices and have yet to be questioned…_Story continued on page A8."_

Darry dropped the newspaper, stunned. _Roger Stanton? Lucky, accused of murder?_ Darry thought disbelievingly.

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Darry collapsed in a chair across from A.J. at the outdoors cafeteria at breakfast the next morning, and immediately demanded, "What's wrong?"

A.J. looked up at him, her mouth turned down. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Darry," she choked out. "It's Lucky…he's on trial for murder!" She broke out sobbing.

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A.J. couldn't help but cry. She hated herself for it, but it was too horrifying to be true. _Lucky couldn't have killed anyone,_ A.J. told herself firmly.

_Not Lucky. Not easygoing, dumb, sweet Lucky. Anybody but Lucky. But he was stoned. He didn't know what he was doing. What if he did? But he couldn't have…Could he? Oh, I'm so confused!_ A.J.'s head was spinning.

_But he was there that night. He told me so himself. He was there with Speed and Skate, stoned like them. What if he was out of his mind and didn't know what he was doing?_

Darry was looking at her concernedly. She put her head down. _I probably look like my own evil twin,_ she thought, and then felt guilty for caring how she looked at a time like this.

"Where's Lucky?" Darry was asking. A.J. gulped and took a deep breath, looking up.

"He's at the station. The fuzz came for him last night. He's been there ever since. So has Speed and Skate. And Alfonso's dead," she choked out, hating herself for being do bloody emotional.

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Darry sat back in disbelief. Lucky was at the station. Lucky was accused of murder. It couldn't have been him. Could it?

Briefly he thought that A.J. was being very emotional, more so than usual. Then again, he reminded himself, she did love Lucky. He couldn't believe Lucky hadn't figured it out yet. _Now he might never have to,_ Darry thought morbidly.

Darry went through the rest of his day in a daze. He didn't even care that he failed his calculus test, or about Ms. Hart's engagement. He just didn't care.

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Late that night, Darry was working on his physics paper when the dorm door slammed. He looked up and gasped.

"Lucky!" he exclaimed, his voice mingled with happiness and question. "How…um. How did it go?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Lucky looked worn out and a lot older then twenty-five. His eyes were slightly red, like A.J.'s. "They had to let me go. They didn't have anything on me. I mean, they did a test and they found out I was stoned that night, but they can't prove anything other than that."

"So?" Darry egged him on. "I didn't do it," Lucky insisted, like he had been saying it repeatedly for the past few hours.

"I didn't kill him. Alfonso was my friend. I would never do that to him, even stoned." Lucky finished with a sort of finality. He glanced at Darry.

"You do believe me, right?" he asked, almost pleadingly, like a small child.

Darry sighed. He didn't know what to believe anymore. He didn't want to think Lucky was a murderer, nor did he think Lucky was totally innocent.

So instead of answering, he said, "I have to finish this paper." He avoided Lucky's gaze carefully, who was sitting on his bed, looking young and vulnerable.

_Did he do it?_ Darry wondered later, looking over at Lucky's sleeping form. _Or didn't he?_

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Whaddya think? It has to have _some_ sort of plot. Tell me what you think, and I'll update soon.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Don't You Believe Me?

Lucky woke up still tired and miserable. _Even Darry doesn't believe me,_ he thought miserably. _My own roommate doesn't believe me. Can life get any worse?_

It could. All day, his friends were all avoiding him. His professors were wary of him and even Professor Chaplin didn't make a fuss when Lucky told him he forgot his homework again.

_You know the world's really against you when even Chaplin doesn't rag on you,_ Lucky thought unhappily.

At lunch, Lucky caught up with A.J. "Hey, A.J.!" he yelled, running up to her.

"Huh? Oh, hey Lucky," she said, trying to sound normal. "So, what's cracking?" Lucky asked, draping his arm casually around her shoulders.

To his surprise, A.J. shrugged his arm off, mumbled, "I've got to get to class," to her shoes and ran off.

Lucky kicked a stray Coke can. Even A.J.! This was too much. He felt like bawling, and almost did.

"Man," he muttered instead, and shuffled off miserably. Everywhere he went, people skirted around him, whispering amongst themselves, or immediately stopped talking and stared at him with guilty faces as he walked by.

_Jeez!_ Lucky thought to himself. _You'd think I'd already got my verdict or something!_

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A.J. hurried off, not wanting Lucky to see the tears that dripped constantly from her eyes like a leaky faucet.

She wanted so badly to tell him she believed him, that she had faith in him, that she knew he was innocent. But that was just the thing. She didn't know.

She didn't know what to think. And before she opened her mouth, she had to know what reigned: her love for Lucky, insisting that he was innocent, that he was just a goof that didn't mean any harm, or the other, darker thoughts lingering at the back of her mind. The thoughts that rationalized, saying, _Well, he was stoned, he didn't know what he was doing, and he does have a bad temper and he is very strong and capable of things…_

A.J. would have gladly considered electroshock therapy if it meant getting rid of thoughts like this.

But since that wasn't an option, she had to live with it. And as of now, she didn't know what to believe.

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Darry still couldn't concentrate in Calculus, although it wasn't because of Professor Hart. He was worried about his friend and roommate. The trial was coming up soon, and trepidation filled his heart as though it were his own Judgment Day.

_Ah, screw it,_ Darry thought, staring at the test problems. _I quit. I'm outta here…just as soon as I can turn this in. _

He turned in his test paper quickly, not bothering to fill out the last ten problems, knowing he would get them wrong anyway, and bolted out the door.

He immediately almost ran head on into someone. "Oh. Hi, Lucky. Sorry about that," Darry said almost tonelessly. Whenever something was bothering him, he immediately made himself impervious to emotion.

_Must be out of habit,_ he thought distractedly. "So. Wanna get some lunch?" Darry asked. Lucky looked astonished, and yet a spark of hope glimmered in his eyes.

"You mean it?" he asked. "Well, if I didn't, I wouldn't very well be asking you, would I?" Darry said exasperatedly.

They walked down to the outdoors cafeteria, chatting with a strained friendliness about football, basketball, Two-Bit's comedy show, who was going to clean the room next, etcetera, etcetera, and so forth.

They carefully avoided the topic of the trial.

Darry wondered as he was talking and looking at Lucky, _Is he really innocent? Can he be guilty? Do I really believe that Lucky is capable of murder?_

He didn't know what to believe.

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A.J. took a deep breath and made a beeline for Lucky in the outdoors cafeteria. She had spotted the back of his auburn hair and made up her mind. She was going to tell him exactly what she thought of him, even if it completely destroyed what friendship was left.

She stood directly behind him and stretched out her hand. _Why is this so difficult?_ She screamed at herself.

She tapped his shoulder. He turned around with a look of mild curiosity on his face and grinned. "Hey, A.J.!"

Hearing his voice, so cheerful, so confident, made her heart break. She couldn't do it. she couldn't. But she had to.

She stalled. "You, um, have a stain on your shirt." Lucky rolled his eyes.

"A.J. Did you come over just to aggravate me about stains on my clothes?" Lucky snapped at her.

"No," A.J. admitted. "I have to tell you something."

"Well, hurry up, because I haven't got all day," Lucky said impatiently, putting on his shades.

A.J. opened her mouth…then shut it. "Never mind," she said quietly, already turning to leave.

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Watching her go, Lucky knew what she was thinking. But he knew her well enough to recognize the look on her face. It was the Lucky-I'm-going-to-tell-you-what-I-think-even-though-you-don't-want-to-hear-it look. Right now, that was the last thing he needed.

_I'm not guilty. They can't prove anything,_ Lucky kept repeating to himself throughout the day.

_I'm not crazy. I'm not a criminal. They can't do anything to me. If I was really guilty, I'd still be in jail. I'm not guilty. _

Even as these thoughts channeled through his brain, Lucky realized that the sole missing thought amongst all these was the most important of all, and although he then repeated it over and over in his brain, it didn't sound true, even to himself.

_I am innocent._

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What's gonna happen? Um. To be honest, I don't know either. That's why I am going to ask for your help. Suggestions, comments, concerns, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism?

I write random stuff for myself. But fanfiction I write for reviews. So help me out, okay? Please?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Arrested

Darry had finally gotten to sleep at four in the morning. He had been tossing and turning for the past few hours, disturbed by his thoughts.

_Would Lucky end up in jail? What would happen to him there? Would it kill him? Would he get hard and cold, like Dallas? _

Thinking of Dallas made him think of Johnny, which made him think of Johnny killing Bob Sheldon, which made him think of the more recent murder, which made him think of Lucky, which made the whole cycle start all over again and gave him a migraine.

He finally managed to doze off, too exhausted to think any more. It seemed to him that his eyes flew open just a few minutes later.

Someone was banging on the door, loud, echoing thuds. Darry sat up straight, still half-asleep, wondering for a second if they were part of a dream.

He leapt up to answer the door when the knocking continued. He started as Lucky whispered from behind him, "Who is it?"

Darry unbolted the door and opened it cautiously. Two hard-faced police officers were standing there. "Roger Stanton?" one of them asked.

"That's me," Lucky said, stepping forward. By now, all the hall lights were on and some students' heads were emerging warily from behind their doors.

"Roger Stanton, you are hereby under arrest for suspected accomplice in the murder of Alfonso Rodriguez and possession of illegal substances," one of the officers said, stepping forward to handcuff Lucky.

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Lucky felt the color draining out of his face. His mouth was suddenly dry and he felt faint. The whole thing suddenly seemed surreal.

He barely felt the cold metal handcuffs closing over his hands. He hardly heard the officer reading him his rights. He _did_ feel humiliated at getting dragged off in front of his friends. He did see the shock on their faces, especially Darry's. He wondered vaguely how A.J. would react.

Lucky was at a loss for words. His mind was buzzing with a million questions, but he daren't open his mouth for fear that all of them would come pouring out at once.

The look of shock was gone from Darry's face. Now he seemed to have pulled himself together and was talking to the officer.

"On what pretense do you make these accusations?" he demanded. The officer looked at Darry emotionlessly, like he had seen it all and didn't care.

"Larry Hughes named Mr. Stanton as one of the guilty persons involved. We're going to have to take him to the station for a while."

"How long is a while?" Darry's voice rose, while one officer led Lucky out wearing his pajamas and sneakers without socks.

"As long as it takes," the officer replied grimly. Lucky caught one last glimpse of Darry, standing helplessly at the doorway, stricken.

And then, somehow, he was being ushered none too gently into the squad car. _This must be a dream,_ Lucky thought irrationally as the sirens wailed and the lights flashed red and blue.

At the station, the officers had him change into the standard orange jumpsuit and led him to a cell. His inmates gave him dirty looks as the officer shoved him in and locked the door behind him.

It was only then did Lucky seem to wake up from his mind haze. _This can't be a dream,_ he thought miserably, glancing around briefly before hastily dropping his gaze. _It's a nightmare._

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Darry didn't know how he could function properly. He was in shock. All day he wondered how Lucky was doing.

At lunch, he picked at his sandwich. He wasn't very hungry. Someone flopped down across from him and he looked up to meet A.J.'s inquisitive brown eyes, framed by long lashes.

_How come I've never realized how long her lashes are before?_ Darry thought. All day he had been having the most random thoughts.

_Chaplin should get a wig. _

_Her hair is the exact shade of Coke. _

_What if Pepsi started liking Sprite instead?_

It was driving him insane. "Hey, A.J." Her expression was curious and desperately pleading at the same time.

"Darry, it's not true what they're all saying, is it? That Lucky got dragged off in the middle of the night?"

Darry sighed unhappily. "It was more around just before dawn, but yeah, he got dragged off."

A.J.'s mouth parted slightly. That was it. No explosion of tears, no freaking out, nothing. Just that.

"Oh," she said softly. Darry stared at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, peering concernedly at her.

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A.J. wasn't okay. Lucky couldn't go to jail. He wouldn't survive it. It would surely kill his spirit. It would surely kill _him._

She was surprised at her own reaction. Normally she would have been hysterical. But something in her had changed.

Perhaps she was all cried out from the past couple of days. Perhaps she was in shock and would have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder later.

Or perhaps she really had changed. She didn't know what, but it was stirring inside of her. It was so tiny now she could barely feel it, but it was there.

It started here, with realizing that getting hysterical and throwing a temper tantrum, no matter how fun they may be to throw, didn't solve anything.

_Oh, bugger,_ A.J. thought suddenly. _It's just like those bloody books we read in English. I'm…oh, whaddya call it? Coming of age. That's it._

Then, again quite out of the blue, the thought, _It's about bloody time._

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_Second day as prisoner on the Hell Planet,_ Lucky thought as the alarm went off to wake them up. The warden came striding down the rows, unlocking the cells to lead the inmates to the mess hall for breakfast.

At breakfast, one guy behind Lucky said something to another guy, who started hitting him with his tray. There was blood everywhere.

The warden broke up the fight and a doctor had to be called in. Lucky could barely get his breakfast down after that.

Lucky barely slept that night, although he was exhausted from the work the prisoners were forced to do all day.

It was sheer terror that kept Lucky awake. He was frightened out of his wits. Being here, in this hard, cold place where no one cared or where someone would kill him without a thought, scared the sleep out of him.

Even if he hadn't been afraid, the noises of the other inmates would have kept him up anyway. There was constant shouting, people calling each other names, yelling in pain as someone hit them.

There were the sickening sounds of one man beating another and the sounds of wardens running in to stop the fights and bring in a paramedic for a man beaten nearly to death.

The sounds subsided, but just barely, as everyone eventually fell asleep. Even Lucky managed to fall asleep with his pillow over his ears to muffle the sound of a man screaming in his sleep.

The next day, he woke up to the sound of the alarm and the warden coming around to let them out for breakfast and another day of community service.

_Third day as prisoner on the Hell Planet,_ he thought. He wondered when his trial would be. He hoped it would be soon.

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So? Whaddya think? I realize this is all a bit messed up, seeing as he should just have been arrested and not questioned and then arrested.

If I screwed anything up, please somebody tell me. I would very much like to know. Also if you have any suggestions as to how I should continue this, please let me know.

And I've decided to leave it up to the reviewers to decide. Is Lucky guilty, or not? You make the choice. Majority rules.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Salaam-Namaste

Darry woke up with a start, as though somebody had yelled in his ear. Looking out his window, he could see the gray light of dawn.

Surprisingly, he felt wide awake, even though he had spent another sleepless night trying in vain to figure out his Calculus homework. He had been even more distracted than usual in that class.

It was only Calculus. In every other class, he was more focused than ever, taking solid notes and concentrating solely on whatever subject he was in. Work became his outlet, his escape from the real world.

The real world was where Lucky was in jail. The real world was where Lucky could be given death penalty. The real world was where he no longer had a roommate to talk to and joke around with, where A.J. was constantly on the verge of tears that she blinked back, fighting the urge to cry.

Buried in his books and schoolwork, Darry felt safe. For a precious few moments he could live peacefully, instead of in constant terror and trepidation. He could breathe freely again, if only for a short while.

But not in Calculus. That stupid engagement ring was once more mocking him, larger than life to Darry, sparkling wickedly as it hit the light. Darry wished he could wrench it off her finger and smash it to pieces.

_It's a good thing I don't know who she's getting married to,_ Darry mused during one of her classes, watching absently as Ms. Hart wrote equations on the chalkboard, wincing as the chalk squeaked against the slate, not hearing a single word she said. _I'd kill the guy._

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A.J. slouched in her seat, half-heartedly listening to what Ms. Hart was saying. Glancing down the rows, she could see Darry. He was doodling absently, although A.J. couldn't see what he was drawing.

A.J. put down her pen and stopped paying attention completely. Her thoughts turned, as usual, to Lucky. She thought about him ninety-nine percent of the time anyway, even before he was jailed.

But now her thoughts were more frantic and anxious, a tight ball that seemed content in the pit of her stomach, rather than exasperated or romantic. Those were the thoughts that floated to the top of her head like clouds, which now seemed to have dispersed.

_He's been in jail for three months now!_ She thought angrily. _Haven't they set a trial date yet? _

Lucky had indeed been in jail for three months. He had had his preliminary trial, but his trial date had yet to be set. A.J. didn't know what his bail was, but Lucky's father had refused to pay it.

_Heartless—!_ A.J. had thought, enraged, adding a few colorful nouns after the adjective "heartless." _That S.O.B.!_

A.J. hadn't met Lucky's parents, but he had talked about them before.

_Flashback: "Mom," A.J. groaned irritably. Her parents had insisted on dropping her off at U of C after Winter Break. _

"_Beta, we're going to miss you very much," her mother said in her thickly accented English, smoothing back A.J.'s hair. "But for the love of Ram, get rid of these dirty-shirty second-hand ripped up jeans! People will be talking, saying we are not clothing out daughter properly!"_

"_Goodbye, beta," her father interjected. "Please be minding your studies and stay away from American boys and other unhealthy habits."_

"_Okay, okay," A.J. said impatiently. Her face was warm, even though her skin was too dark to show the blush. _

_When they zoomed away at long last, A.J. sighed in relief and turned to see Lucky giving her an envious look. _

"_A.J., you've got it made," he said after a long pause. "You freak me out, you know that? You're like, perfect."_

"_I am not perfect!" A.J. exclaimed, indignant for some reason. Lucky rolled his eyes, putting on his shades. _

"_Oh, spare me. Straight A's, ace artist, street smarts and two parents who adore you? That sounds pretty perfect to me."_

"_Like you haven't got street smarts too," A.J. shot back. "And you could do anything you wanted if you bothered."_

_Lucky shrugged. "You've still got great parents."_

"_And you don't?" A.J. asked, her brain screaming at her, _shutupshutupshutup!_ Lucky gave her a long, hard look, but softened, shoulders sagging. _

"_My mom's cool and all," Lucky said quietly, which shocked A.J. Normally he was loud and annoying energetic, seeming to radiate adrenaline wherever he went. "But she's weak. Always gives in to my old man. And he's one cold dude. Couldn't care less if I got shot up in the streets and was left to die."_

_A.J. couldn't believe it. "But…if he doesn't care, why does he keep you in college?" she asked in a small voice. She held her breath, hoping Lucky wouldn't think she was prying. But as he talked on, he seemed to get more relaxed, as though he had kept this bottled up inside of him forever and was finally letting it out. _

"_That's my mom persuading him. She hopes I'll make something outta myself. Fat chance," he added, smirking humorlessly. _

_They sat together in silence for a long while after that, both of their meanings made perfectly clear without words cluttering up the air._

_End Flashback. _

After class, A.J. was walking to her next class, tuning out the world outside her mind. That explained why she didn't hear Pepsi screaming her name and running after her at top speed, finally jumping on her back to get her attention.

A.J. felt a jolt from behind and fell over. Someone was on top of her, yelling something unintelligible while all around her people laughed.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, shoving Pepsi off and standing up. Pepsi grinned sheepishly, straightening his glasses, which had fallen askew.

"Sorry, A.J. But have you seen the paper?" he brandished it in her face. She snatched it out of his hands and stared at it.

" 'Car Accident On Grant Kills Two?' " She read the headline aloud. "Pepsi, what—?"

"Not that!" Pepsi exploded impatiently. He grabbed the paper back and opened the newspaper to a short article almost hidden amongst the others.

A.J.'s eyes widened as she read the article. "Lucky's trial date's been set for next week?" she screeched, attracting the attention of many people in the halls.

"Yeah. It's the same as the other guys, too," Pepsi said grimly. "Who's his lawyer?" A.J. wanted to know.

"Some lady named, um…" Pepsi wracked his brain, trying to remember. "Kathy. Kathy O'Malley."

"His parents hired her?" A.J. asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Nope. She's the government lawyer. Lucky's old man is, like, unofficially disowning him or something," Pepsi said, disgusted. A.J. rolled her eyes and said nothing.

The bell rang. "Oops!" A.J. groaned, taking off. "I'll see you later!" she yelled over her shoulder to Pepsi, waving and trying not to trip.

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Late the night, Darry sat down to do something he hadn't done for a while. He tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook and began writing a letter home.

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Dear Sodapop and Ponyboy,

Lucky's trial date has been set, finally. I saw it today in the paper.

School's fine and everything, except Calculus of course. Did you know Ms. Hart got engaged? If I ever find the guy, I'll wring his neck.

I wonder how Lucky's doing. He's been in jail for three months now. When he gets out, will he have gone hard and cold like Dally? Or will he be distant, or will he have broken completely? What if he's like Johnny, and comes out scared of his own shadow?

On a different note, how are you guys doing? Pony, have you written anything lately? How're Steve and Evie and their kids, Hannah and Mark?

I heard Two-Bit's coming to Tulsa. Too bad I won't be able to come. It's finals week when he's there. Oh well, maybe next time.

There's nothing really more to say, so adios, I guess, and _Aawjo._ That's Indian (well, some regional language of India, I forget which) for goodbye. A.J. taught me some. _Namaste_ means hello, but it's _Salaam_ in Pakistan, _beta_ means whatever what you would call a little kid, like sweetie or something.

I'll tell you more if I ever remember it all. A.J.'s so mean, she keeps laughing at my pronunciation. I told her, at least I don't speak English with a faint Indian accent, which she does. That shut her up.

I'll write more later. Love, your favorite brother, Darry

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He sighed to himself later as he slid the letter into the college mailbox. He had been overly cheerful, he knew, but he didn't want to worry his brothers too much.

Pony, always with the overactive imagination, would probably think he was depressed and would take a shower with a toaster or something. Soda would just worry and try and think of some way to cheer him up.

In any case, he was in the habit of not telling his brothers about his problems. He figured they already had enough of their own.

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Soda woke up early Saturday morning and walked out to the mailbox barefoot. He slammed the door coming back in, hollering, "Mail call!"

"What's up?" Ponyboy asked, stumbling downstairs sleepily. Soda flipped through all the letters, tossing them over his shoulder as he read their sender's names aloud.

"Bill, bill, junk, bill, bill, more bills…" he muttered in disgust. "Soda, watch where you're throwing those things!" Ponyboy yelped, catching a bill inches above the coffee pot.

Soda ignored him, shouting with glee, "Glory, it's a letter from Darry!"

Pony tossed the bill aside, all other thoughts forgotten. The two of them ripped the envelope to shreds, nearly tearing the letter itself in half.

Envelope remains fluttered to the floor like papery snow as Ponyboy and Sodapop leaned in together to read the letter.

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Ta da, that's the end of this chapter. I'm too lazy to write more. And yes, I do know that Gujarati is the "regional language" to which Darry refers, but no one ever remembers it so neither does Darry. And I know Salaam-Namaste is the name of a Hindi film. I did that on purpose.

Please review with comments, questions and concerns you might have. Ideas as to how I should continue/end the story are welcome. Even insane ideas like, "Darry dies in a freak toaster accident" or something.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Day of Judgment

Lucky woke up to the sound of a warden saying harshly, "Get up." He opened his eyes and sat up warily.

The warden flung a suit at him. "Put it on," the warden growled. "You're going to court today."

The dinner that Lucky had managed to choke down last night jumped back into his throat. He struggled to swallow it again.

This was it. His day of judgment. _I'd rather have my day of judgment from the guy upstairs than this,_ Lucky thought, vaguely remembering his Sunday school lessons from grade school.

The warden left, and Lucky pulled on the suit. He had to cuff the legs of the pants because they dragged, but the sleeves rode up his arms.

He sat in his cell, fully dressed and feeling like an idiot, waiting. For what, exactly, he didn't know.

His lawyer came by during visiting hours. Lucky had taken one look at her and thought, _I'm so screwed._ She looked like she could get lost walking upstairs. Lucky wondered if she was even a qualified lawyer. Considering that she was issued by the government, probably not.

The warden took him to the reception area where Lucky saw her through a glass screen and talked to her through a telephone.

"Hello, Roger," she greeted him. Lucky tried to smile back at her. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, last night's dinner would come spilling out. His insides were churning.

"D-do I have a chance of getting off?" Lucky asked in a small voice. His lawyer sighed, looking sorrowful.

Instead of answering his question, she merely smiled sadly and said, "Just tell the truth," before leaving rather quickly.

Once again, Lucky thought, _I am so screwed._ He put his head down on the table.

Someone else came in as the lawyer left. Lucky, not in the mood for anyone's company, didn't bother to raise his head until he recognized the voice.

"Lucky?"

Lucky's head shot up. "A.J.?" he said hoarsely. "What the—how—why are you here?" he stammered.

"I had to see you," A.J. said softly. "I want to tell you something."

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It had taken all of A.J.'s courage to come down here to talk to Lucky. But she had to tell him something.

"Lucky…" she said softly. "I just want to tell you…I believe you."

Lucky raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to say something, but A.J. went on before he could say anything.

"I believe you made a mistake. You made a mistake going out and getting stoned, but you didn't murder anyone. I can't believe that you did."

Lucky nodded slowly. "Thanks, A.J."

A.J. smiled and reached through the slot in the glass to touch Lucky's hand. He turned his hand over and squeezed hers gently.

They sat like that for the longest time, not saying anything. It was yet another rare incident where silence said what words could not. They sat in silence until the warden kicked A.J. out.

"He's going to court now," he growled.

At the door, A.J. turned to look one last time at Lucky before she was ushered out. She found herself standing outside, squinting in the bright sunlight.

She waved for a taxi and rode back to U of C. She didn't know what she would do once she got there.

It was just one of those days where things could go in any direction, and you feel lost and the only thing you really can do is let yourself drift with the current.

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Darry ran up to A.J. as soon as she entered the outdoors cafeteria. "Well?" he demanded.

He had been waiting anxiously all day for A.J. to return from her unauthorized visit to Lucky.

She shrugged vaguely. "He'll be all right," she said quietly. "He's innocent."

Darry pressed her for details, but she wouldn't say anything more. He sighed in frustration. Why did A.J. have to choose now of all times to go psycho on him?

"His trial's starting in half an hour," A.J. said suddenly. "We can make it if we leave now."

Darry glanced at his watch. A.J. was right. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?" he roared. A.J. jumped in alarm at his outburst, but grabbed her bag and followed Darry.

They ran out to the nearest street corner. Darry waved his arms like a windmill. "Hey!" he bellowed frantically. "Taxi! TAXI!"

A.J. ducked his flapping arms. "Stop that!" she hissed. "You look like a freakin' tourist."

Darry stopped, embarrassed, and let A.J. hail the cab. "To the courthouse," she said, her words coming out in a rapid, urgent string. "Hurry!"

Darry threw some money at the driver when they had pulled up at the courthouse. He and A.J. raced up the steps and burst into the courthouse.

Once inside, they were relieved to see that the proceedings hadn't started. They tiptoed to seats in the back row and sat down sheepishly.

Everyone was looking at them. Darry could have sworn that he saw a shadow of an amused grin flit across Lucky's terrified face.

The judge entered. The bailiff stood, saying, "All rise." Darry stood up along with everyone else. He glanced sideways at A.J. She was staring straight ahead.

Darry swallowed hard. He was a nervous wreck, and it wasn't even his trial! But it was Lucky's. Lucky, who was his roommate, who had come to know and even grow a little fond of, despite his annoyingly Two-Bit like characteristics.

_This trial will determine how all of our lives change,_ Darry realized with a start. _Lucky's, A.J.'s…and mine._

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Gotta stop it here because until I write anything about the trial I've gotta look up how a trial goes. So the next update should be up as soon as I find the time and/or energy to look it up.

Anyone want to spare me and just tell me?


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Testimony

The judge took his seat. He was about sixty, with thinning hair and a million wrinkles. The bailiff made a settling motion with his hands and everyone sat down.

The judge cleared his throat and said, "We are here today on account of the murder of Alfonso Rodriguez, age twenty-two, on the night of December 14th, 1976, and the suspects Roger Stanton, Nelson Williams and Jason Shah. How do they plead?"

Each lawyer stood up in turn and said, "Not guilty." The judge nodded at the prosecutor. He was a man named James Wolf. Wolf stood up and made his opening argument.

Darry was half-asleep when he was finished. He groaned inwardly. _Is all of the trial going to be this boring?_ He thought.

The remaining lawyers made their opening arguments, by which time two hours had passed. Lucky's lawyer was the last to present her argument.

Darry and A.J. sat up to listen to her argument. It was just as long-winded as the others had been, but Darry struggled to pay attention and understand what she was saying.

Most of it was pointless fluff that surrounded her main point: "My client is not guilty."

Darry felt like smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand like A.J. was doing next to him.

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_Oh, no,_ A.J. thought helplessly. _Stupid government lawyer!_

When the lawyers were finished, testimony began. "We call to the stand Anjali Jahaji," the judge said.

A.J. froze. That was her! She stood up slowly and made her way to the stand. The bailiff swore her in.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

It took a moment for A.J.'s mouth to work. She hated getting up in front of people to do anything, even just walking across the room. "I do," she said.

The prosecutor began questioning her. "How long have you known Mr. Stanton?"

"Since I began college."

"And when was that?"

"A year ago."

"How well do you feel you know Mr. Stanton?"

"We're good friends."

"Where were you on the night of the murder?"

"I was at the comedy show at the McCormick Place. My cousin was doing her routine and she sent me tickets."

"Who was with you?"

"My friends Lu—Roger Stanton, Jennifer Andrews, Andrew Michaels and Michael Rogers." A.J. bit back a laugh as she realized the relation between all their names. How come she hadn't noticed them before?

"Whose name did you start to say?"

"Lucky. That's Roger's nickname." A.J. stole a glance at Lucky as she said his name. He was staring at her pleadingly, as if to say, _don't let me down._ She wanted to tell him, _don't worry, I won't._

"Nickname? Is that a trend?"

"Yeah," A.J. said, and because she suspected the question was coming, she said, "A.J.'s mine."

"All right, Miss Jahaji," the prosecutor said. "Would a nickname be possibly be used other than among friends, such as to cover up an illegal activity?"

The lawyer sitting by Jason Shah jumped up and said angrily, "That's leading!"

The judge said calmly, "Sustained. The jury will disregard the question."

"Where did you go after the comedy show?"

"Back to the dorm."

"Do you know where Roger went?"

A.J. glanced at Lucky and felt as though she was betraying him when she said, "I don't know for sure, but I know he got stoned. He was sick the next day."

"You saw him the next day?"

"Yeah."

"Did he say what he'd been doing?"

"No. Just that he felt sick."

"Nothing further."

The sun had completely set in the background. The lawyers continued questioning A.J. for a grand total of four hours before they were all completely satisfied.

The judge called a recess until tomorrow afternoon.

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A.J. was lying awake in bed. She couldn't fall asleep.

Just before the guards had led Lucky away, he had turned to look at her. He had had a very strange expression on his face.

She could see it in her mind. She didn't know what it meant. She didn't know if she wanted to know what it meant.

She tossed and turned. As hard as she tried to forget it, she just couldn't. His face kept popping up in her mind just when she thought she had forgotten about it, clear as ever.

It was an expression like no other. And as much as A.J. denied it, refused to believe it, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was accusing her of something she hadn't even known she did.

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Darry couldn't fall asleep either. He was haunted by what had happened just after the judge called a recess.

_Everyone got up and began to leave. Darry sighed and stood up to begin filing out with everyone else. _

"_Darrel? I didn't expect to see you here."_

_Darry whipped around. He knew that voice all too well. It took all his effort not to melt into a pathetic, lovestruck puddle as Ms. Hart smiled up at him. _

"_Ms. Hart? What're you doing here?" Darry blurted before he could stop himself. _

"_Oh, I'm here supporting David of course. I suppose you're here supporting Roger?"_

"_Yes," Darry said. "May I ask who—?"_

"_David? Oh, he's my fiancé. I just had to come down and support him. This is the biggest case he's ever had."_

"_He's one of the lawyers?" Darry asked, trying to hide his shock. "W-which one?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. _

"_He's the prosecutor."_

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Aren't I twisted?


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: #3529

Disclaimer: Don't own Outsiders or references to Monster or Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Lucky closed his eyes and wished he could close his ears too as the sounds of screaming and a cellmate being beaten.

His trial was not going well. A.J.'s testimony, Lucky's lawyer had told him, guaranteed him reform school for doing drugs but neither helped nor hurt him on the murder case, since she hadn't been with him.

_A.J.,_ Lucky thought bitterly, _I wonder what she's doing. I wonder what she thinks of me now. And Darry, and Pepsi, and Skate and Andy and everybody._

He wondered how long the trial would last. His lawyer had told him it was a motion case: they went through the motions and then locked them up.

_Don't they care whose life they ruin?_ Lucky thought, suddenly enraged. _Probably not. They've seen the same thing so many times it doesn't even matter to them anymore._

Lucky now tried to fall asleep against the sickening thuds. As he tried to sleep, he reflected that jail was nothing like prison movies.

Lucky wouldn't have admitted it aloud, but he was terrified of his cellmate. Not the one being beaten, but the one doing the beating. No one knew his name. The wardens addressed him only by his number: #3529

One of the prisoners had told Lucky sympathetically, "Tough break, man," when Lucky had found out that 3529 was his cellmate.

"Why?" Lucky had asked. The prisoner had leaned in and said in an undertone, "He beat his last cellmate to death, and stuck a knife in his own arm so he could claim self defense."

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A.J. was asleep at the cafeteria table. Darry prodded her experimentally. "A.J.?" he said. When he got no response, he poked her again. "A.J.?" he tried loudly.

She jerked awake. "I didn't do it!" she blurted, then saw Darry and blushed, unusual for her because the blush didn't normally show through her dark skin. "Oh. Hey, Darry."

"Hey, A.J.," Darry said heavily. He was brooding about Ms. Hart and her future husband a.k.a. the prosecutor. Bizarrely, he remembered that line from _Romeo and Juliet_: "Oh, I am Fortune's fool!"

A.J. gave him a sympathetic look from across the table. _She's sort of in the same situation,_ Darry realized.

"What are you doing?" Darry asked, staring at the piles of papers and books around her. "Studying," A.J. said grimly. "Fell asleep."

Darry nodded. The tension was so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. As a matter of fact…

A.J. glared over at Pepsi. "Pepsi," she said, irked. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Pepsi looked up from dragging a fork through the air. "I'm cutting the tension," he said cheekily.

A.J. rolled her eyes and Darry felt like doing the same. "When's the next trial date?" Darry asked A.J.

"Today, actually, at five," A.J. said. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Darry said. "I'm coming if you are." A.J. nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

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A.J. recalled the look Lucky had given her once again as she climbed the courtroom steps. The way it popped into her head out of the blue shocked her system so badly she began shaking uncontrollably.

"You okay?" Darry asked quietly. A.J. wrapped her jacket around herself and forced herself to nod.

She lagged behind and stood for a moment at the top of the stairs before she stopped trembling.

Then she took a deep breath and stepped inside. _Yes, I'm okay,_ she said to herself. _I'm okay now._

A.J. slipped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. She took her seat by Darry as the judge entered, and she had to stand up again.

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Lucky would have fallen asleep, the proceedings were that boring, but he was too terrified.

He felt a spark of hope in his chest when Darry was called to the stand that sank when Darry's story was the same as A.J.'s.

_My friends can't help me,_ Lucky realized. _Jason and those other goons are all just gonna try to save their own sorry skins._

It was a depressing thought, but unfortunately the way of the world.

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At the end of the day, A.J. came to see him again. _She was the only one who ever came,_ Lucky thought.

She didn't say anything, just sat down and held his hand across the table. Finally, she said softly, "How've you been doing?"

Lucky opened his mouth to say, "Okay," but instead the whole, pathetic truth came spilling out.

A.J. listened quietly and nodded when he was finished. "We're gonna get you outta here," she vowed. "I promise."

When she left, Lucky's stomach twisted with guilt which made no sense to him. _I didn't do anything,_ he thought. _I didn't murder the guy. I was stupid. I got stoned. But I'm not a killer. I'm _not.

Now all he had to do was prove it.

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You review, I update.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Concussion

The medic clucked his tongue disapprovingly as he sponged the blood off Lucky's throbbing face.

"What on earth did you say to your cellmate?" she scolded.

_Flashback: Lucky tried to avoid eye contact with #3529. He didn't want anything to do with that sick man. _

"_You lookin' at me, punk?" #3529 demanded roughly. Lucky shook his head, not looking up. _

"_You too good to look at me?"_

_Lucky realized what kind of a person #3529 was. He was like the tough guys back home who would twist everything you said and did when they were looking for an excuse to fight. _

_Lucky raised his head to retaliate, but never got the chance. His eyes widened and he ducked too late as #3529's fist came flying at his face. _

_End flashback. _

The fight had gone on until the warden had broken them up. Lucky's throat was hoarse, though he couldn't remember screaming. He couldn't remember much of anything, except a lot of pain. His head still throbbed and everything looked hazy.

"You've got a concussion," the medic informed him grimly. "You need a few days off."

"What?" Lucky exclaimed, sitting up. "But I've got my trial!"

"I'm sorry, son," the medic started, but Lucky cut him off. His mind was working like a broken record, and all he could hear was that he wouldn't be able to go to his trial reverberating in his head.

"What about my trial, man? What about my damn trial?" He was shouting now.

"Calm down, son, before I give you a sedative!" the medic barked. Lucky calmed down, breathing hard.

His trial would be postponed indefinitely, he learned later. An indefinite number of days he would be in jail. Lucky didn't think he could bear this for much longer. He thought he finally understood why they took away your belt and shoelaces when you first got here.

That last thought by itself shocked his system enough to make him break out in a cold sweat and start trembling uncontrollably. He waited it out, hoping none of the others were watching him. If he looked weak, it was just another excuse to beat him up some more.

They brought him dinner. It was too salty, but they wouldn't bring him any more water when he asked. "You get what you get!" the warden snapped.

He dreamed that night. It was the first dream he had had in a long time.

In it, he was still thirsty as ever. He was begging for water, but the people all around him just moved on. He felt like he was about to collapse when some kind soul finally handed him a water bottle and waited while he drained it. He looked up to thank the person and saw that it was A.J., smiling beatifically.

He woke up to see his other cellmate, a man they called Juice, grinning wickedly at him. "Sweet dreams?"

"Huh?" Lucky said, feeling the blush rise up into his face even as he played dumb.

"A.J.? Dreaming of a _guy?"_ Juice added, looking a bit repulsed.

"A.J. stands for Anjali Jahaji! As in a GIRL," Lucky said heatedly. Juice looked thoroughly relieved.

"Good. Cause the way you said her name, you weren't exactly having a nightmare," Juice teased.

"Man, she's my _best friend,"_ Lucky said emphatically. "Not my girlfriend!"

"Not from what you were dreaming. Relax," he added as Lucky opened his mouth again. "These dreams are perfectly normal."

"Perfectly normal? What are you, a damn psychologist?" Lucky demanded.

"Watch it," Juice said warningly. Lucky shut his mouth. Juice was tougher than he looked.

The warden excused Lucky from jail duty that day because of his concussion. Lucky was grateful. He still felt terrible.

He slept during the day. Since he had gotten that concussion, he felt tired all the time.

As he slept, he dreamed again, the exact same dream as before.

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Really short chapter, I know. But at least I updated, right?


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: What's Up With Lucky?

The warden refused to give him a break the next day, even though Lucky still felt dizzy every time he stood up.

"One day's all you get!" he snapped.

Lucky hesitated. "If I can work, shouldn't I be able to go to my trial too?"

The warden grunted. "Not my decision, kid. Talk to your lawyer. Now get to!"

Lucky sighed and got to.

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A.J. was pacing back and forth in front of the table at the outdoors cafeteria, swearing a blue streak at the prisoner who had cracked Lucky's skull.

Darry didn't know whether to be amused, appalled, or worried. It was funny hearing swearing coming from A.J.'s mouth, when Darry had hardly heard her swear before, appalling and worrying because Lucky had a concussion and his trial was postponed.

A.J. suddenly glanced at her watch. She snatched her bag and announced, "I'm going to see him."

Darry stared at her. "Lucky? Now? But…we've got school!"

"Screw that," A.J. said impatiently. "This is more important. I'll just get the notes from Pepsi, right?"

"Sure, A.J.," Pepsi agreed. Darry glared at him. "You're not supposed to encourage her!"

"Sorry, Darry," Pepsi apologized. "She'll just get them somewhere else if I don't give it to her."

Darry muttered a few threats under his breath at both a cowering Pepsi and at A.J.'s retreating back as she sprinted off campus.

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She was a bit early. Visiting hours didn't start for another fifteen minutes. A.J. sat in the waiting room with a woman who looked awfully familiar. A.J. couldn't place her for a moment, and then realized who she was.

"Hey, you're Lucky's lawyer," she said aloud. She looked up. "Yes, I am," she said, sounding surprised. "And you're his friend, am I right?"

"Yeah," A.J. said. "When's his trial gonna be next?" she blurted without meaning to.

"We don't know," the lawyer, Kathy O'Malley, said. "We were thinking of resuming it by next week, if his concussion's gone by then."

The tentative hope that had risen in A.J.'s heart died. "Is he…I mean, will he get off?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"It depends what the jury thinks," the lawyer said seriously. "It's really all up to the jury."

A.J. mulled this over. She had a few more words she would have liked to say, but then Kathy O'Malley was permitted inside to talk to Lucky, leaving A.J. alone in the waiting room.

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After what seemed like forever, they let A.J. in to see Lucky. He looked terrible. "There's three of you," he mumbled.

A.J. reached through the opening in the thick screen to hold his hand, like she had been doing each time.

"How come only you come see me, A.J.?" Lucky asked, sounding almost drunk. Having a concussion was having a very strange effect on him. "I mean, it's like, you get accused of murder and then where're all your friends, you know what I'm saying?"

A.J. nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her throat was thick with tears that threatened to fall any moment.

"I dreamed about you, you know," Lucky continued. "Juice, the other guy, not the guy that beat me up, but just a guy, he heard me talking in my sleep and thought you were a guy. I said, no way man, A.J.'s a girl. My very good girl friend…friend that's a girl…the only person who cares about me."

"Stop talking," A.J. whispered. The tears fell and landed on the table in a pool of sorrow. Lucky didn't stop.

"My lawyer…she said that if I'm all right by next week I can have my trial. That's good. A.J.?"

"Yes?"

"You'll be there, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," A.J. promised.

"Okay. A.J.?"

"Yes, Lucky?"

"I'm tired. Can I sleep?"

"Go to sleep, Lucky. You need to sleep." The words were hardly out of her mouth when he put his head down on the table and fell asleep.

A.J. swallowed, but it didn't get rid of the lump in her throat. She hated seeing Lucky like this, vulnerable, scared, and brain-damaged on top of it.

"Visiting hours is over," a warden told her gruffly. A.J. pried her hand gently away from Lucky, who was somehow still holding on to her hand.

A.J. walked in a daze back to the college. "How's he doing?" Darry asked her at the entrance, where he had been waiting with Pepsi, Andy, and Skate.

"Why don't you go see him?" A.J. asked. "I'm the only one that ever goes. Why don't you go see for yourselves how he's doing?" she demanded, shooting them all accusing glares.

She trudged away before Darry could say anything else and traipsed up to her dorm. She managed somehow to keep her cool until she got there, but once she flopped on her bed, she buried her face in her pillow and cried, longer and harder than she ever had, for the carefree guy she had once known who was no more and probably never would be again.

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Was that too melodramatic? I thought so. But writing at 12:05 when you woke up at 5 can do that to you. Review, please ;)


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Life Gets Worse

The trial did indeed resume the following week. A.J. and Darry attended all of it. After the first couple of days, they started bringing homework and books along to keep them busy.

A.J. felt guilty at first, but, as Darry had pointed out, "What else are we supposed to do in all those hours? I wouldn't even be there if it wasn't for you!"

He had a point. Before A.J. started bringing along books to the trials, her grades had been slipping from all the lost hours she could have been studying. Now, they were steadily improving again.

Darry paid no heed to the proceedings, but A.J. glanced up to listen every once in a while, whenever she heard Lucky's name mentioned.

It did not seem to be going well. Even at college, people were starting to have their doubts.

"I don't know, A.J.," Pepsi had confessed once. "Is he really innocent?"

Before A.J. could chew him out, Skate agreed. "I agree," he announced. "We don't know what he did that night, A.J. None of us do. You included."

Suddenly A.J. was under the blank stares of students who were Lucky's former friends. She was about to shout them down, but her energy was drained. "Screw you all," she mumbled before leaving the vicinity.

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Dear Ponyboy and Sodapop,

A.J.'s still weirded out over Lucky. I don't know if he's really innocent, but she keeps insisting he is. I guess love's blind.

Still failing Calculus. Ms. Hart's never been happier, for her marriage and her fiancée, who's opposing Lucky in the trial.

I'll write you guys later. Love, Darrel.

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That was the shortest letter Darry had ever written home, but nothing had really changed since the last time he wrote.

Darry wondered how his brothers were faring as he stuck the letter in the mailbox. Hopefully they were doing better than he was. He was sick with worry for Lucky and now A.J., who he feared was either going clinically insane or was having a nervous breakdown, and failing the class taught by a woman he just happened to love, who was engaged to Lucky's prosecutor.

He was sick of worrying and sick of being lovelorn. Stepping out into the blustery Chicago weather, he sneezed violently. _Great,_ he thought. _All this being sick of everything and I really am sick on top of it._

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"I'm worried about Darry," Soda announced.

Ponyboy looked up from the typewriter he was clacking away on. "Why d'you say that?" he asked.

"His last letter was really short. He normally goes on and on about crap nobody even cares about. And he signed it 'Darrel,'" he added, brandishing said letter in Pony's face.

Ponyboy batted Soda away with his arm. "I saw, Soda. He's just worried about Lucky and A.J."

Truth be told, Ponyboy was worried about Darry too. But he didn't want to worry Soda by telling him.

"And A.J.!" Soda went on, arms flailing expressively as he ranted.

"Watch out for the!…coffee," Ponyboy sighed as it went flying.

"Does she honestly believe the man's innocent? I mean, come on! The whole world's against him!"

"Maybe the whole world's wrong," Ponyboy commented quietly. Soda whipped around at this comment, his jaw hanging open.

"Oh, no, Pony, not you too. Am I the only sane one left?"

Ponyboy ignored him. He was thinking about A.J. She had left a lasting impression on him that fateful night. He hadn't thought about her often since, but now her face appeared clearly in his mind.

He remembered the way her eyes had lit up whenever Lucky's name was mentioned, the way she looked at him, exasperated but loving all at the same time. He ought to have known. It was the same look Darry used to give him.

Soda stalked out of the room. Ponyboy barely glanced up. The only sound left in the room was the clacking of the typewriter as he worked and reflected.

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Darry woke up the next morning and staggered to the bathroom. He started to brush his teeth, but ended up puking all of last night's dinner, lunch, and possibly breakfast into the sink.

His vision was swimming and his head pounded like a bass drum. He washed the vomit out of the sink and pressed his forehead against the cool mirror to soothe it.

He stumbled over to the phone. He thought he was supposed to call in sick. But who was he supposed to call? The dean? One of his friends in all his classes?

Halfway through dialing A.J., he clanged down the phone. He was being stupid. He didn't have to call in sick. They didn't take attendance at college.

He made his way back to bed and lay there all day, delirious. Lucky danced with Ms. Hart as A.J. declared him guilty of murder and sentenced him to life in prison.

_Shouldn't have gone out without a coat,_ he thought feverishly as the ceiling swam before his eyes.

He shut his eyes. How long would this take to pass?

He awoke with the vague memory of waking up earlier to a cool hand on his forehead, a soothing voice and the faint smell of cashews and caramel. A note on the bedside table told him A.J. had stopped by.

Darry groaned. He was miserable. _Life can't get any worse than this,_ he thought.

How wrong he was.

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Excuse the lameness of this, but I'm recovering. I've been sick like Darry for the past couple of days. This story's almost over!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Verdict Is Reached

The next few months continued the same way. Darry stopped coming to the trial sessions once May swung around and finals came around, but A.J. never stopped going.

Today, A.J. woke up with the sensation that she had gone on one too many roller coasters. Today was the final day of the trial. Today was the day the jury reached a verdict.

It was a thoroughly messy trial. There wasn't much evidence to work with, nor were there many reliable witnesses.

A.J. skipped breakfast and all of her morning classes to get to the courthouse on time. She was alone, just as she had been for the past several weeks when Darry stopped coming along. Today, however, she was stopped just as she was exiting the university through the gate out front.

She whirled around and her mouth stuttered open at the sight of Darry, Pepsi, Skate, Strawberry, Oak, and even Jay and Mini standing there. "We're coming with you," Pepsi announced firmly. "We care about Lucky, too, ya know. He's our friend, too."

Darry glared back at Pepsi. "Pepsi," he said irritably. "I thought we agreed to tone down the drama. This ain't a damn chick-flick after school special confrontational scene."

"Ain't?" Pepsi mocked, slightly embarrassed at Darry's scolding.

"Yes, I said ain't. I am from Oklahoma and we say ain't. Get over it," Darry replied heatedly. "Come on. Let's go, or we're gone miss it."

A.J. couldn't help a smile. They may not have cared so much about Lucky anymore, but they cared enough about her to find some care for him. The eight of them hailed a cab and piled in uncomfortably.

"Hey, only five in a cab including the driver," the cabbie complained.

"Somebody get out," said Oak.

"We only have enough for one cab fare," Skate, self-appointed treasurer of the lot, pointed out.

"Well, then, I guess some of you are gonna have to walk," the cabbie said.

Darry and Oak, who tied for most muscle in the group, exchanged glances and wicked grins.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Oak said.

"Great minds think alike," Darry said. "Shall we?"

"After you."

An enraged Chicago cab driver found himself being lifted bodily and flung out of his own cab.

"Drive!" one of the girls inside shrieked. The tires squealed as whoever was now driving complied.

"Thanks for the car, man!" the new driver hollered, sticking a hand out the window to wave goodbye to the cursing cabbie.

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They made it to the courthouse just in time. The eight laughing kids sobered as they entered the courthouse and took heir seats.

The judge entered. "All rise," the bailiff said. The judge entered and made the resting motion with his hands. Everyone sat down.

A.J. couldn't hear a single word he judge was saying. Her heart was thumping too loudly in her ears.

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Darry couldn't breathe right anymore. He had been to a court trial like this before, for Dally and Johnny, but he had never been to one where the defendants were actually present, or where he didn't know for sure that the defendant in question was guilty.

The jury came out. Lucky was on the stand, petrified.

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His friends were there, in the rows, listening intently to the jury.

"…Charged on count of murder…"

They had probably all just come out of curiosity.

"…Illegal drug use…"

He spotted A.J. in the mass of people. She had a worried and hopeful look on her face. Had she made the others come? What did she think of him now?

"We the jury find Jason Shah guilty of abuse of illegal substances, not guilty as an accessory in the second-degree murder of Alfonso Rodriguez."

"We the jury find Nelson Williams guilty of abuse of illegal substances, drug dealing, and an accessory in the second-degree murder of Alfonso Rodriguez."

"We the jury find Larry Hughes guilty of abuse of illegal substances and second-degree murder of Alfonso Rodriguez."

"We the jury find Roger Stanton…"

Lucky held his breath.

"…Guilty of abuse of illegal substances and not guilty as an accessory in the second-degree murder of Alfonso Rodriguez."

Lucky would have stood up and whooped, as Pepsi did, but it wasn't over yet.

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"Pepsi! Sit down!" Skate hissed. "Its not over yet, you goon!"

"Why? He's not guilty."

"The judge makes the final call, moron!"

"Oh."

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The judge had spoken. Lucky was not guilty for murder, but he did have to spend four months in the reformatory. He would be back just in time to start the new school year.

"I hope this experience has taught you a sobering lesson, son," the judge admonished severely. Lucky nodded, unable to speak. His larynx seemed to have turned to lead.

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Not over yet! One more chapter to go! Review, please.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: Conclusion

Four months flew by. Darry finished his first year of college successfully, barely managing to pass Calculus but finishing with flying colors in every other subject.

Ms. Hart married her fiancée over the summer, a tiny wedding with only the parson and two witnesses—her parents—present. Darry managed to get over her, though, when he met Jennifer, Ms. Hart's sister. He broke up with her two weeks later when he realized that she was like Mini in the way that there was no substance under the surface.

Mini broke up with Jay and started dating, of all people, Pepsi. Jay dropped out of college when he was discovered and recruited by the Chicago Bulls.

Soda met and started dating A.J.'s comedian cousin, Tanuja. Ponyboy and A.J. went together for all of two days, but decided that they were better off as just friends.

Then, in the midst of getting on with their lives, they all learned that Lucky was coming back, and their lives were turned upside down again.

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A.J. had been a nervous wreck all day. Just that morning, she had completely lost it at Skate over some minor thing and flung her Coke at him, narrowly missing his head but managing to splatter him with most of the sticky liquid.

Now, she and the rest of the gang were at the train station, waiting for Lucky. Gnawing at her cuticles anxiously, A.J. wondered if he would be his same old self, the Lucky she had fallen in love with. If he was changed, could she love the new him as much as she did the old?

The train was pulling in. Darry smacked A.J.'s hand. "Quit biting your nails," he commanded. A.J. made a face at his turned back.

The train pulled in at the station. A.J., Darry, Pepsi, Skate, and Mini all craned their necks looking for Lucky.

A.J. spotted him first. "LUCKY!" she shrieked, running towards him. He looked different—his eyes had a cold, hard look in them, his hair was cropped short and he was leaner than ever—but it was definitely him.

Lucky turned almost dazedly at the sound of his name, and was nearly knocked over by A.J. throwing herself at him. He hugged her back stiffly, like he wasn't used to it.

"Hi, A.J.," he said. Even his voice sounded different, raspier and quiet, without a trace of his old humor or sarcasm in it.

He had changed, A.J. realized with a sinking heart as she pulled away to examine him critically.

He had the look of a caged panther, eyes narrowed with general anger at the world, every muscle suggesting coiled rage.

He smiled suddenly, humorlessly. It scared A.J. to look at it. "I guess you think I'm a freak or something, don'tcha," he said, his voice dry and bitter. He went on before A.J. could open her mouth. "Don't blame you. Woulda been the same myself, to tell the truth. But reform…it's hard. Try being a smartass there, you'll get yourself killed." He looked at A.J. "You don't think much of me, do you?"

A.J. shook her head vigorously, eyes sparkling with tears. "No," she said thickly. "It's just so hard seeing you so different than I remember."

Awkwardly, Lucky pulled her into another hug. Looking at the changed Lucky now, A.J. realized that she had been wrong to doubt her love for him. He was Lucky, and nothing could ever change that. As long as his heart, which she now listened to as she leaned her head on his chest, was still beating, and she could be comforted by its steady, never-ending rhythm, she would be all right.

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"Aw, isn't that sweet," Pepsi said. Skate smacked him upside the head. "Ow!" Pepsi whined, "What was that for?"

"You just know how to ruin every perfect moment, don'tcha?" Skate scolded.

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Looking at Lucky, Darry was reminded strongly of a certain towhead he had once known. Everything about him suggested smoldering anger beneath the surface, yet although hardened by jail—or reform—he had found warmth in the midst of all that ice for one person who cared for him despite his coldness.

Come to think of it, A.J. even looked a little bit like Johnny, with her tan skin, big dark eyes and black hair.

Lucky caught Darry's eye and gave him a sharp nod of acknowledgement. Darry nodded back. It was strange seeing someone after so long, and so different.

Looking at A.J. and Lucky now, Darry knew that whatever Lucky had been, he was no longer. He looked…lost, almost. A.J. had certainly been lost while he had been gone. Together, they completed each other. If they were lost, they could always find the other.

Darry remembered suddenly the last time his family had been to the seaside, before his parents had died. He, Soda and Ponyboy plunged into the chilly water, hanging on to each other so none of them would fall in the crashing tide. A.J. and Lucky were the same way. They relied on each other, and so to survive the oncoming waves the ocean of life would create for them, they would learn to hold hands.

The End.

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Whaddya think? Do you guys want a sequel or not? Its up to you to decide. I thought the ending centered too much around Lucky and A.J. and was too melodramatic. But that's just me.


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